Lamentations of the artistic kind
by TheSilentArtist2225
Summary: I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted people to be massacred because of my actions, or because they were close to me. It was down to me and my genetics that I was targeted, targeted to become a prototype. They killed and created me, they shot and stabbed me, but now it was my turn to target them. To kill and create, and to get my revenge upon my makers. (OC's are involved)
1. Someone needs to shoot me now

_Welcome to my very first fan fiction! I have written some before but none were as good as this though. This is obviously a fanfiction of prototype, and it is based off a dream that I have had about Mercer and the gang. It may be a bit bad in parts, but believe me I am trying to improve it. Enjoy! I own nothing except new characters nobody has heard of. And of course my own plot line I invented._

It was my first time ever being so far away from my home country, and to be honest, I was scared. My name is Alison Brown, and I, am a very long way away from home. I'm a first year art college student from England, and I am on a trip with my college class to New York City/Manhattan. Of course, we are here to sightsee and take notes for class (why else would we be here?), most likely for a future essay which I am definitely not looking forward to writing at all.

You see, I hate going outside most days, mainly because of the weather, but also because of my paranoia and antisocial behaviour. I don't like people very much. Put me with a group of people I don't really trust, in the middle of an overpopulated city probably full of disease and rapists, in a completely foreign continent, that just screams 'GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!'

However, I suppose it wasn't all bad. I had a bag full of art equipment slung over my shoulder, a sketchbook on my lap, and my iPad with me that was fully charged. I also had my favourite clothes on - a black 'no fear' hoodie with a dark shirt underneath, with my deep blue boot cut jeans and leather boots. A custom cut necklace and touch of slate grey nail varnish finished the outfit nicely in my opinion, however to others, this outfit apparently screamed emo and depressing. Arseholes.

As you can probably guess, I get bullied a lot for being an individual and having a creative thinking mind. Poor me right? Wrong. If they want to be idiots, let them be set in their narrow minded ways, I am quite happy not fitting in if it means I have to be stupid to have friends.

A solid tapping against the back of my chair on the bus disturbed me from my window watching. The idiots from behind wanted to piss me off again apparently, they knew hitting my seat irritated me. I patiently tried to ignore it, praying they would just stop being asses for a few minutes until we arrived at Central Park, but alas, my prayers were not answered by any deity. Well, perhaps by Loki... More solid knocks against the back of my chair were felt, harder than last time, and definitely more prominent. I silently swore and clenched my fists, before turning around to face Slutty Natasha and Kyle Travis, the slimy couple of the year who liked to think they were hilarious.

"Stop knocking the back of my chair. It's irritating." I spoke bluntly to them, fixing them with my best death glare, however the look on my face just egged them on. "What, this?" slutty Natasha all but shrieked in her annoying high pitch voice, continuing her obnoxious banging upon my seat. Travis, the one with the stupid jock haircut, snickered and joined in with his ratty girlfriend. "Yeah, this? Does this irritate you Browny?"

I sighed in resignation, pinching the bridge of my nose and replied in an almost bored tone. "So thats the best you can do Travis? Call me Browny? Not very intellectual." I looked at his girlfriend and addressed her in the same way, "and you, rat face with the trampy hair, shut up with your insistent shrieking. Some people are still tired from the 7 hour flight here. Including me." Natasha's head snapped upwards at the mention of her hair looking trampy, her eyes narrowing dangerously, and opened her vile claptrap to shriek some unpleasant garbage at me when a fuzzy voice came on over the speakers of the bus.

"Hello this is your bus driver speaking, we are now pulling into our destination, Central Park." A variety of excited chatter followed his previous statement before they hushed themselves for him to continue. "Please grab your bags for today and make sure you leave nothing behind, the bus will not be returning until 2pm. Your teachers will separate you into groups when you get off, so please exit in an orderly fashion." My class members immediately went to stand as the bus came to a steady stop along side the entrance to Central Park, excited chatter blotting out any important instructions issued by teachers and the bus driver alike. Thankfully Natasha was too excited to remember about replying to my less than polite statement, and I wasn't about to remind her either. I swiftly stood up with my bag draped over my shoulder, however I had to wait awhile before I could actually move, as most of the more ignorant students had forced their way to the front of the bus, obviously oblivious to the fact that even if they were off first, they didn't get to choose their groups.

Eventually after much pushing and shoving, everyone was off the bus. (the blonde haired young art teacher who was immensely popular with the guys for obvious reasons) and (the history teacher who suspiciously looked like TinTin) were organising the groups, for the most part putting people in random groups and writing down names on clipboards as a precaution. Coincidentally, Natasha and Kyle happened to be standing nearby me talking enthusiastically, so when looked up, she immediately paired me with the worst possible people ever. God damn you Loki.

I tried telling that it was a bad idea to pair me up with these people, especially now that they had their gang in tow, but she was having none of it. "It's a good chance to make new friends!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, patting my hand half-heartedly then turning to sort out another group. I turned to look at my own group who were snickering at my circumstances, Natasha smirking in my direction, her neon pink lipstick and bright red hair just painting me a target in my mind to destroy.

As we entered the park I purposefully lagged at the back, avoiding stares or unneeded conflict, my parents had let me come on this trip under the condition I didn't cause trouble, so I would not disobey this damn rule even if my life depended upon it. However, fate, it seemed, had a different idea for me. Kyle had decided to follow me and step on the back of my heal, tripping me forward and making me fall down, scrapping my hands in the process upon the gravel and stone pathway. 'My' group, burst out laughing and high-fived Kyle, jeering at my pain as I got back up. My only reaction was to sigh once more.

"Have a nice trip Ali-baba?" Was often asked as I walked along the main pathway under the trees, trying to find the lake through all of the plant life around. I don't think it was the comment that made me snap in the end, I think it was just the pure stupidity behind the comments and the laughter at someone's physical torment. Before I knew what I was doing, I was seeing red, and my left hand was wrapped around Kyle's throat, holding him up against a tree. Never before had I spat such venom than what I had then.

"Do you think these comments make you look smart? Do you think they make you look cool?" I hissed dangerously to him, my eyes narrowed to almost slits. "You are nothing but a worthless piece of shit, who preys on others to find his twisted pleasure; for example, you would injure a woman who has done nothing to you for amusement? Atrocious. You see this hand?" I held up my right hand, the places where it had been scraped from the gravel bleeding. Kyle's eyes were wide, almost popping out of their sockets, probably from fear. "This hand has many scars upon it. All from defending those who deserve whom deserve to be defended. For once, I'm going to defend the one who needs it most. Myself." I raised my hand upwards, as if I was going to punch him, which made him flinch, but brought it back to my side at the last moment. I dropped Kyle from his perch on his tree, and let him collapse uselessly on the floor, looking at him in disgust while he floundered. "You're a freak!" He exclaimed in fear and terror, looking wildly at the small crowd that had gathered around me at this point, but it only brought a grim smile to my face.

"Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am a freak, and a monster. But you," I sneered at him, "you are far worse than I will ever be." With my final sentence to him, I walked swiftly through the crowd, arriving upon the scene right as I left.

Now I don't ever usually get involved in fights, but if someone innocent is getting harmed, that sparks me into a frenzy. Why should someone whom had nothing to do with the incident be affected by those responsible? It is simply unfair and wrong. Hopefully one day those idiots will learn such a lesson, but for now, they are beyond hope. I wandered into a little clearing nearby the lake, mostly obscured from view by most people. It wasn't the main lake, however it was still better than nothing I suppose. Eyeing the time (which was 10:30am), I sat against a tree near the edge of the lake, and began to draw at my own leisure.

The sunlight illuminated the clearing quite well, and everything was perfect once again, no irritating people to put off my creative flow, no stupid noises that were unwanted, and definitely no family to distract me from my work. Moments like this remind me of a beautiful spring day when the sun is warm and the sky is clear of clouds. I tried to sketch the lake, but I didn't get too far before I gave up, the day was just too perfect for me to ever capture the beauty of. I checked my watch once again, the time only being five minutes later. I huffed my cheeks out in boredom, but decided to rest my head against the tree trunk and gaze into the sky, my short wavy blonde hair covering my left eye ever so slightly. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt after dozing off for awhile...' I thought absentmindedly, 'after all, I do have a few hours before I have to do anything, and no one will miss me...' I shifted my body to rest upon my side to get comfy upon the soft earth ground, before closing my eyes and easing a small smile onto my face. A nap couldn't hurt... Surely?


	2. Treetop cops

I woke up at some point later on, the first thing I noticed being that the shadows had moved considerably and the second being the ground was very soft. Sitting up, I stretched my arms with a lengthy yawn to match, before gazing around at my surroundings. Nothing much had changed minus the fact that the sun has higher in the sky, and that there was a man sitting in the tree outside of the clearing I was sat inside of, looking like he was hiding or something. Well shit. How long has he been there?

Getting up carefully as to not attract his attention, I hid behind the tree trunk and examined him carefully. From what I could tell, he was not that attractive (of course that's what I notice first, good job Alison), and quite short, wearing a police uniform. I raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what to do, seeing a police officer hiding in a tree even in America could not be normal. Deciding that the best idea would be to quietly leave without drawing attention to myself, I gradually began creeping behind bushes and trees that was around the perimeter, hoping desperately that he would be to focused on hiding to notice me slipping away. That was, until I heard other people approaching.

"...Negative, the Tango escaped into this area, we'll report any findings of importance." He seemed to end his call and I'm guessing he addressed someone next to him. "You, do a perimeter sweep. He could be anywhere." A quick "affirmative" was heard before footsteps in our direction could be heard. By looking at the now tense figure in the tree, it was obvious he had heard it too, and they were most likely after him. I decided to cut my losses and make a run for it. Even if they saw me, I was a pretty fast at running so it was unlikely they would be able to catch me.

I turned around and began running the way I came, definitely attracting the attention of the man and the others. "Hey you! Get back here!" The perimeter sweep guy shouted at me, but I didn't stop or check to see what he looked like, I just kept on running. Especially when I heard male screams come from the direction I was just in. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit..." I chanted to myself as I ran through thickets and trees, getting stung by nettles and cut by thorns. I turned corners, dodged fallen logs and rabbit holes, and even leapt over small puddles of water that had gathered in the shade. Soon, the cries of outraged men was left behind, and I was back in the crowd of public people I now had a sudden desire to be immersed within.

Only now did I think of checking the clock, and it was a good thing I did, it was 1:35pm. "Ah shit..." I mumbled to myself, getting a few angry glares from mothers with little children walking by. I decided to try and make myself look presentable as I walked back to where to bus would pick us up at 2:00pm, considering I had small cuts all over, my jeans were coated in some weird plant that loved to stick to certain materials, and my hair was once again, a nest worthy of the most messiest birds in existence. I think I managed to look decent as I arrived back at the bus only just on time, Kyle and the others shooting me wary looks and thinking twice before sitting near me upon the bus. I couldn't help but feel smug knowing that he was afraid of me...

As I sat back down and settled in my seat, I took to looking out of the window again, one of my favourite pastimes while on a journey. However something just didn't feel quite right... I couldn't really say what it was though. I looked around me and checked my bag, although nothing seemed out of place until I reached down to grab my sketchbook, only to find it wasn't there. I thought back to when I last had my sketchbook, retracing my steps mentally but not liking where it was all leading. The last time I had my sketchbook... Was back at the mini lake... Oh no...

I had left my sketchbook at the lake for that creepy police person and those other officers to find. Simply put, oh shit. They can probably figure out it was me, since it had my address and everything on it, 'if lost please return to Alison Brown (hotel address and home address here)', but I hadn't done anything wrong right? They couldn't accuse me of anything. I was scared so I ran would be my excuse if they did find me. 'Yeah, great excuse Alison. So smart. ' the sarcastic side of my brain decided to chip in, earning an uneasy feeling in my gut. I began looking outside the window again to relax myself, and I swear, right as the we started pulling away from Central Park and the bus driver was blaring out announcement for the next stop, I saw this man who as wearing a strange hoodie/jacket leaning casually against the pillar for the entrance arch, and he was staring right at me with his ice blue eyes from under his hood. In his hand, I have a feeling was my sketchbook.


	3. Sulphuric acid

Back at the hotel everyone was staying in, everyone was excitedly chatting about what they did at Central Park, the more louder ones claiming that they sunbathed (how I have no idea, the sun wasn't that hot) and the more quieter ones saying in hushed tones that they stuck in a group and just walked around. All around, the trip met with overall approval, as proven by no complaints in the dinner hall the hotel had kindly let us use until 7pm. I however, would of preferred if we never went to Central Park. I lost my one good sketchbook, almost got caught by police for doing... Something, and some weird hooded person had my personal thoughts and inner workings in their possession which, may I say, I usually murder anyone who touches my artwork without permission.

This time however, I had to let it go. There was no way I was going to get it now, unless this weird hooded person decided to give it back out of the kindness of his heart. I felt my own heart drop at the prospect of losing months worth of drawings, paintings, concept art and even writing, that work had been practically my life. It had small sketches of things that captured my interest such as reading, playing games, my deviantART account, birds and nature were often frequent in my sketchbook, and there were even a few sketches of chemical structures. Shaking my head and trying to bring myself out of my low spirits, I went over and grabbed myself (from the buffet served for us) a dish full of tomato soup and garlic bread to accompany, with of course, my favourite beverage, orange juice. A bit of a strange combination I must admit, but nothing helped better my mood than orange juice (I swear I am addicted to the stuff) and tomato soup which was about the only dish I new here. Everything else looked so mushy and gross.

Sitting on my own once more with my bag on the spare seat next to me as a companion, I picked up the small spoon I had and was just about to begin eating, when upon close inspection my soup had... Something inside it. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was purple and black, and it looked all shrivelled. If this was the hotel's idea of cooking, then these people needed to be shut down immediately, whatever this thing was, it was rotten for sure. I put down my spoon with the shrivelled thing upon it and instead went to try the garlic bread, even if it did stay on your breath no matter how hard you brushed your teeth. This however, also looked an unhealthy shade of a colour it shouldn't be. Thoroughly disgusted, I looked around and noticed everyone else was eating and chatting away, completely oblivious to the health hazard they were consuming.

'Should I be a nice person and tell everyone they are eating poison?' I mused to myself, smiling at the outrage I could cause if I said such a thing. Then I thought back to how mean everyone had been to me over the past year, and quickly wafted away the thought of providing any help to them what-so-ever. I deep down however, hoped that they wouldn't die because I didn't warn them about their food. Looking at my orange juice longingly I sighed and got up, knowing that even the most wonderful drink in the world was not meant to look that shade of yellow. I was done here, I was going to my room. Right as I walked past the teachers table which was next to the exit of the 'dinner' hall, called out my name, effectively gluing me in place. Did Kyle snitch on me?

All of my dread was washed away though, when she only said my room was on the top floor, A13, and handed me the key. I sighed in relief as I slipped away unnoticed by everyone else, taking the stairs instead of the elevator (I hated elevators). It also gave me time to think about today's events, as well as giving me some much needed exercise. By the time I reached the top of the stairs, I was a little exhausted, and fully ready to turn in for the night- but first, I had to take a shower. A long one.

I finally reached my room which was at the very end of the long dull hallway, which to a hipster would of been photo gold with all of the vintage wallpaper and carpets, and slid my key into the lock. Thankfully there was no mix up with the keys, and I was also pleasantly surprised when I found my suitcase already in here, my clothes placed in the draws and my bed fully made. So this hotel was alright I guess, though I was still irritated I wasn't able to have any orange juice. I locked the door behind me. Before taking a shower I looked at the room thoroughly, noting that the room almost completely contrasted with the outside appearance. The room was reasonably sized and of a modern design, a large openable window parallel with the door and to the left the comfortable looking bed was pushed up against the wall. The chest of drawers was to the right just next to the door, and there was a moderately sized end table just at the end (I get why they are called end tables now) of the bed. What I was guessed was the bathroom door was also to the right, just next to the bookcase in the corner, and to illuminate it all, there was a small light in the ceiling, covered by a cylindrical black lampshade.

All in all, the place was looking pretty sharp, the one black wall which the bed was against contrasted with the other white and dark wooden flooring quite nicely, however I could examine the décor later, I needed a shower. Opening the window just enough to let a cool breeze in, I quickly grabbed a blue towel, my black nightie, and immediately proceeded to the bathroom, which was also incredibly tidy and clean. My shampoo and conditioner were already in the shower, along with my rose scented soap, so I wasted no time practically jumping in the shower once I was undressed.

At first I was confused as to what to do, as there were no buttons, but soon I noticed two little turn handles, which presumably controlled the temperature and water flow. I managed to turn it on, but almost immediately scalded myself. "GAH HOT!" I yelped, immediately turning the water all the way to freezing. "AH COLD! WHAT THE HELL!"

I then proceeded to mess with the temperature until I had it just right. It may as well been the first setting really, I liked to have hot showers. After god knows how long, I finally washed my hair and body, and stepped out of the shower, the cold immediately hitting me like a wall of sound. I don't think I have ever grabbed for a towel so fast in my entire life.

After I finally got changed, and exited the bathroom, I threw my clothes from today back into the suitcase which was nearby the bookshelf. The window was still open, although it looked slightly more open than before, which was odd. Maybe the breeze pushed it open more?

I walked over to it and surveyed the city. We weren't far from Penn station, and looking around it didn't look so bad to be honest. I always hated cities, but around here it wasn't terrible. The night lights were pretty soothing, and the traffic was almost non-existent. Perhaps I was wrong... I smiled to myself softly, enjoying the view, before closing the window and twisting the handle to lock it.

I wish I hadn't turned around. I really wish I wasn't so observant. And I really wish I had locked my window sooner. As I turned around, I noticed a black covered book resting upon my end table, with a small scrap of crumpled paper next to it. 'These were not here before, perhaps I left something in the dinner hall?' I thought quietly to myself, moving to pick up the book. I swiftly dropped it, my breath hitched in my throat. The drawings and paintings inside my book spilled out, scattering across the floor, making my body feel suddenly cold. It was my sketchbook I had left at the park. I tried calming down, trying to provide a reasonable explanation for this event, but my breath betrayed me, coming out in little gasps. "I-How..? I locked the door! No one could of gotten in..." I then remembered that the staff here had multiple keys, which calmed me to some extent, but then that stupid side of my brain reminded me that staff don't come in your room while you are there. Especially not at night. Being the only remaining option, I checked the crumpled note which looked like it had been shoved into a pocket then forced to endure a lot of travelling. The handwriting was neat in a weird way of speaking, but at the same time it was messy, as if they were used to taking notes upon the go. It only said one thing, with a little drawing on the bottom of some sort of atom model.

'Not bad. But you got the chemical structure of sulphuric acid wrong.'


	4. Bravery in the stupidest form

_I feel so proud to get thus far in a fanfiction, it is vastly better than any of my previous attempts at writing a fanfiction indeed. If you have any comments, or noted any mistakes, please tell me, right now I am very eager to churn these chapters out, so I will be reading the comments frequently of course. Also, this chapter was quite a big one to write! Things finally get *interesting*! _

_Enjoy!_

After discovering the sketchbook and the note, I couldn't really sleep that night. The following morning, I didn't really feel like eating either, not the kind of food that gets dished out here. Apparently, nor did anyone else. Everyone was sick or as the boys called it, 'blowing chunks', which as much as I hate to admit it, was pretty funny. Everybody had food poisoning, including our teachers, and the fact that I didn't have food poisoning did not escape the notice of my colleges and 'friends'. So, due to the fact that I was still healthy, the trip to a small art gallery closer to Penn Station would still take place. However the only people going would be me, and of course Slutty Natasha... Oy vey...

"How did you not get sick?" I questioned passively as we walked through the crowded streets in the direction of the art gallery. She sniffed, almost like a snob would and spoke in that high pitched voice of hers. "I, am on a diet, thank you very much." She sneered at me, "I didn't eat any of those fatty hotel foods, they are just packed full of calories. Not that you would know..." I sighed my signature sigh. "And here I thought you were intelligent." I shook my head as the cogs in her mind finally processed I had insulted her. "Hey! I am not stu-" I pulled her back from the dangerous road, effectively silencing her protest as she watched taxis and cars drive past at breakneck pace as the lights flashed green on the traffic lights. I gave her a bored look as her mind once again took a few moments to register what had taken place.

The lights turned amber then red, and we walked across safely, Natasha still having not spoken. "You saved me from getting ran over..." She finally muttered, not looking directly at me. I nodded in confirmation, not particularly fazed by her statement. I would of much rather pushed her, but I can be a nice person occasionally. "What, you expected me to push you into oncoming traffic? Despite what you think, I'm a decent person to those who deserve to be treated nicely. Think about that for awhile." I walked slightly ahead of her, making her pay attention to her surroundings while she thought, which for this girl was easier said than done. Eventually she was back to her normal annoying self, glaring at everything in existence. "This doesn't make us friends you know! Your still I temperamental freak!" I bristled slightly at the word 'temperamental', but I kept my cool and replied in a bored tone once again. "I didn't expect to be friends. I just wanted you to know I'm not a total bitch. I could of pushed you if I wanted to."

We walked another two minutes before she asked me a question I was expecting at some point. "So how did you not get sick then? Did you not eat either?" Her tone wasn't as harsh as before, but it still held an edge. I replied after a few moments of looking around the street. "Yeah. But for different reasons to you." We crossed again, getting close to our destination, and Natasha pipped up again.

"What were your reasons then?"

I turned and looked at her, giving her a slight glare saying 'please shut up after I answer this question.' "Did you look at the food they served?" I asked, probing to see her reaction, which sadly disappointed. "No! Of course not! Like I said I didn't touch any of those fatty-" "Those foods, for a start, were not fatty, most of them were actually quite healthy such as pasta, and leek soup. There were plenty of vegetables available too. And secondly, the reason I didn't eat was because I noticed all of the foods were rotten or contaminated. Hence why I left early." Her reaction was quite funny to watch really, it was a combination of rage, embarrassment and if I saw correctly, longing. I had a feeling she wanted to eat, but was too vain or self conscious to bring herself to.

"Why didn't you tell everyone else then!? You could of prevented us all from getting food poisoning! Including Kyle!" I continued walking ahead of her, pretty much ignoring her until I thought of an answer she could understand, which let me tell you, was quite a hard task. I stopped walking, making her bump into me, and I turned to look at her with the most seriousness I could muster. "Would you of told me if you had noticed? Or would you have giggled along side Kyle as you watch me poison myself? Everyone has eyes, they could of easily seen the health and safety risk on their plate." She fumbled for words as I paused, but before she could form a coherent sentence, I continued my small rant. "For this past year you people have done nothing but bully and make my life a living hell. Why should I go out of my way to help someone whom just yesterday injured me for entertainment? I see no reason to help you people if you insist on stupidity. Helping a fool will only make you one."

After my rant, she seemed to understand my point of view a little bit, even if I did let the rest of the class- teachers included, eat poisonous food. Natasha only asked one more question before we finally came to an unspoken agreement. "Then why did you stop me from walking into traffic?" She mumbled quietly, knowing that she was defeated. I smiled at her in an odd way before replying, "because one, like I said, I'm not a bad person. And two, you need help."

Natasha didn't notice what I said, and if she did, she must of kept quiet. Not long after we finished talking, a newly founded truce in the air, we arrived at the Art Gallery we had been assigned to visit and take notes on for the rest of the class. We decided mutually we should do separate sections each, myself doing sculptures and abstract paintings, while she handled landscapes and portraits. I didn't mind doing the hard things, she looked like she needed to think all too much.

Resigning myself to making notes and sketching out pictures, I opened my recently retrieved sketchbook and began on a clean page, making sure to skip past the page with the chemical structure of sulphuric acid (which I had yet to correct). The first painting was of some weird floppy clocks and a melted tree by Salvador Dalí, which I really didn't like. Abstract was meaningless to an artist who preferred still life and realistic paintings. I made as few notes as I could get away with, and moved on to the next. After about a mind-numbing hour or so, maybe more, I was about to move onto sculptures, when Natasha was running towards me in an uncharacteristic way. "Alison!" She whispered urgently, pulling me down behind an exhibit table, "there are army people here, they all have guns and are rounding up any people they find in this area! I heard them talking about a quarantine zone and test subjects, I don't think this is just a movie recording..." She looked at me in genuine fear, and I knew this wasn't some kind of joke. Something was going on, and we were caught I between a rock and a hard place.

"This raises a big problem..." I mumbled. I reviewed my memories from the past hour quickly, thinking back in as much detail as I can to see if there were any escape routes. I looked up suddenly, Natasha looking at my expectantly. "I recall there was a series of air ducts, and each one lead outside, were there any army guys outside the main entrance?" She hesitated a moment, before speaking. "There was a two trucks outside, but they were positioned like a barricade. There were no men outside there, as far as I could see." I nodded in understanding, before looking at her with the most seriousness I have ever used. "Good, we can sneak through this hallway under the table cloth, and when we reach the main air ducts, you will crawl through. I am fairly sure the air ducts lead outside the barricade, but you can get past it." She looked confused, "What about yourself?" I smiled at her grimly before I answered her question. "I'll distract them to let you get free. It's an art gallery, I'm in my element here."

Her eyes flew wide open, and she opened her mouth to argue but we heard footsteps coming our way. I immediately pulled her under the table with me, holding her still until they I was sure they had passed. "Unless you want to become a test subject for whatever they have planned for the people they have rounded up, I suggest you listen to me. Follow my lead, do what I do, these people do not joke around. And nor will I." She pressed her lips into a thin line, but she nodded and followed me under the table. We crawled under exhibits and tables, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. One came close to almost spotting Natasha because of her stupid neon lipstick, but I threw something in the opposite direction which instead gained their attention. We snook past before they realised it was just a lump of charcoal from my art kit.

Finally, we reached the place where we meant to part ways. Natasha was surprisingly more calm about this situation than I expected her to be. "Natasha, this has to work flawlessly. If you hesitate about anything, my distraction will be for nothing and we will both be captured. I want to at least see you get out of here." I was actually shivering inside, but I tried my best to hide it. "Carry a message back for me IF I don't return within two hours... Tell the teachers to get out of here as soon as possible, and... To my dad, tell him that I'm sorry..." Natasha nodded seriously, clearly blinking back tears. "Ready?" I asked as a pair of soldiers walked past the ducts across the room. She nodded, shaking slightly as well. I turned around and stood up, and grabbed a wooden decorated pole from a sculpture nearby. Right as a soldier turned the corner, a whacked him to the ground with the blunt side of the stick. He went down almost immediately with an audible 'Oof!'

"Now!" I yelled, and Natasha charged towards the duct entry, prying it off with ease and slowly refitting it back on behind her. "Good luck!" She whispered as she crawled further into the ducts. I smiled slightly but focused on the soldier who was rapidly recovering from his initial beating. Mighty stick in hand, I swiftly hit him over the head with all of my strength, knocking him out cold for a while. I smirked despite myself and my situation, but that smirk was quickly erased when more of his buddies showed up with rifles in their hands. "Hey you! Drop the weapon, now!" The first one shouted, aiming his weapon while the other one clicked a button on his radio device. "Sir there is an armed civilian in the sculpture rooms, Williams has been... incapacitated, orders?" While the second was radioing his supposed superior, the other ordered me to drop my stick again. I looked at my feet, and discovered something very frightening. The guard I knocked out had grenades, which one happened to roll right next to my foot. A very dangerous idea popped into my head.

Slowly lowering my stick to the ground, as if to look like I was obeying orders, the first soldier got a reply as the supposed superior officer had walked into the room with his rifle ready. Using the distraction to my advantage, I swiftly plucked the grenade from the floor, the soldiers to busy to notice what I was doing. "This is the civilian who 'incapacitated' Williams? He'll most likely be demoted for this blunder," the higher up person laughed. I laughed too, making them immediately glare and raise their rifles again. "What are you laughing about bitch? Your about to be plucked from the face of the earth and turned into an involuntary test subject," the superior soldier taunted. I just shook my head and replied, "oh yeah? Well then. Eat this fuckers!" I pulled the pin on the grenade I had hid behind my back and threw it at them as best I could, the higher up commanding them to open fire as they backed away from my grenade I 'borrowed'.

I threw myself to the ground, dodging effectively all of their blind fire except from two. The first one one grazed my cheek, and shot off a small lock of my hair at the back. The second got me much worse on my upper arm near my shoulder, cutting out a streak of flesh from where my arm used to be. It didn't help the fact that I landed on it as well, causing me to yelp out in pain. Not long after I landed the explosion went off, both deafening me and effectively dealing with the soldiers for the most part.

I crawled behind a table, effectively hiding away from any more soldiers, and sat up to check my injuries. My forearm was bleeding a hefty amount, and my cheek had a trickle of blood running it from it too, however it didn't hurt too much, which was the only positive right now. More soldiers had joined me inside the room, inspecting the damage done to the soldiers and the room. "Williams and Daniels are down, fatalities are unknown yet. How the fuck did this happen?" One of the marines cursed, and it sounded like he helped somebody in the explosion up. "Lieutenant, are you-" "Get the fuck off me runt, that bitch is still alive!" I paled considerably, knowing he was going to send men after me, and this time I had no tricks up my sleeve. "Who? a civilian?" "No, it was the Easter bun- of course it was a fucking civilian, spread out and find her, she can't of gone far. I want her captured and shipped straight off to those damn Gentek assholes. "

"Oh shit..." I cursed quietly to myself as I heard somebody walk in my direction, a rifle being loaded. I prayed to whatever god was listening, to send me some help, but what I wasn't expecting, was to actually be answered. The window to my right shattered, fragments of glass raining down upon everyone, and I flinched backwards to escape the rain of deadly daggers. A person had flown straight through the window, aiming for the soldier walking in my direction. He collided with the soldier, knocking him down to the floor and almost riding him across the floor like a surfboard, which would of been quite funny if this was a game, however it wasn't. I didn't need to hear the sickening 'SNAP' of his spine to know he was as good as dead. I looked up from the body on the ground to the figure standing just by it, and of course my blood ran cold. My prayer was answered alright, but of course it was Loki who answered. There standing next to the recently made corpse, was the man with the ice blue eyes and strange hoodie/jacket.

_Boom! Another cliffhanger? I am sorry. I need to get better at ending chapters. I swear that is like 3 cliffhangers in a row. D: anyhow, what did you think? I am still quite pleased with it :3_


	5. Foreplay and 'first kisses'

Everything paused for a moment as he became the centre of attention, his cold eyes surveying the room. Then all hell broke loose when one of the marines exclaimed, "shit! It's Mercer! Open fire!"

Bullets flew everywhere, mainly at him but some ricocheted off the walls and metal pipes here and there. However as I watched the person called mercer, he almost seemed unaffected by the bullets penetrating his skin, in fact it looked like it just ticked him off slightly. That was when I saw his arm shift, and these... Tendrils, shot from his arm, pulsing red and black. They wrapped around one of the marines, and with a strong tug the man came flying towards Mercer, which he then proceeded to kick in half!? I watched in horror as he massacred these marines, each one meeting a gruesome or painful demise, my eyes riveted upon the gory show in front of me.

Finally there was only three left, one being the lieutenant which ordered them to find me. Once again the tendrils pulled the man to him, and I watched, expecting him to be ripped in half too, and he was, but afterwards, the lieutenant melted INTO Mercer, the tendrils pulling him in. What I didn't expect was for Mercer to collapse to his knees, clutching his head in agony and let pained groans escape from his throat. Unfortunately, this allowed the two marines still remaining to recover from the shock of losing their superior and take aim at him, who was still clutching his head. Ludicrously, I wanted to help Mercer, even after witnessing a crime this bad, I don't know why exactly, but I felt compelled to help him. It was like an instinct that I had, had just awoken, and it compelled me to grab my wooden stick from before, and launch it right into the face of the marine standing nearest to me. Just like 'Williams' from before, he collapsed to the ground, attracting all of the attention back to myself. Not my smartest idea, I must say, but the moment he changed his aim to myself, Mercer had snapped his eyes open and grabbed him by the throat. I watched once more as the person's throat was crushed, and he was thrown aside like a rag doll.

I stood there speechless, possibly in shock. They were gone, but now I was left with a much more deadly threat if he decided to attack. I backed away from him as discreetly as I could but now, of all times, the pain in my cheek and forearm choose to present itself, the blood having run all the way down my face and right side. I clamped my left hand over my injured arm and hissed in pain when the skin made contact. Unfortunately, that gained his unwanted attention, and I think I went two shades lighter when his haunting eyes locked with mine. "I didn't expect to see you here. But then again, I didn't expect you to throw a grenade at a marine, a lieutenant no less." His voice was eerily quiet, but at the same time when he spoke it demanded respect. His eyes under his hood practically reinforced that statement.

He walked towards me calmly, as if the previous massacre hadn't happened, and held out his arm expectantly, making me flinch as he moved within arms reach. "Your arm," he stated patiently in a calm voice, as if talking to a young child. I bristled at his tone but hesitantly offered my wounded arm towards him. He accepted and moved me closer to him, much to my surprise, to examine the wound upon my arm. He ran his fingers across the wound, making my breath hitch, in pain or embarrassment I could not tell. What really surprised me, was how gentle he could be, especially after seeing him rip people apart, I could barely feel his fingertips as he tested for something I didn't know about. He then moved to inspect the cut on my face, his hand tilting my chin upwards towards his face. Now I rarely blushed, but when I looked at him this close, inches apart and his eyes were studying me so intently, I'd think it would be damned hard for anyone not to blush. After a minute of studying my injuries, it looked like he had reached a conclusion, but just before it looked like he was going to move away, a slight smirk covered his lips which I couldn't help but glance at.

"Your injuries are minimal surprisingly. You really are lucky. No infection or extra damage." I blushed deeper as he spoke, desperately trying to hold it together, but he unfortunately noticed my internal turmoil, much to my infinate embarrassment and dismay. "You know, my eyes are higher up." I swear, his smirk only grew when I pulled away and exclaimed "Your the one who had my sketchbook!"

His response was just a faint laugh, and a nod, his eyes looking oddly emotional when he smiled, even if it was faint. "And you were the person hiding in the tree i'm willing to bet!" Another nod, although his smile vanished at the mention. "I... How? I thought... Huh?" I probably looked immensely confused, and probably very stupid, as he shook is head. "I'd rather not explain. Lets just say... I have a condition." His body looked like it was going to shift into something, small webs of black and red tendrils running across very inch of him before disappearing back into him, making me shiver, but not in fear.

I pretty much knew it was him who placed my sketchbook upon my desk, it couldn't of been anyone else (damn creeper), so I decided to ask a different question instead. "Why exactly did you come here then? Not that I'm ungrateful or anything..." He understood and raised his hand to stop me from talking, before answering. "I came here to find my sister. He knew where my sister was, so I took his memories." He gazed at me for a moment before adding in a humoured tone, "also, I couldn't let someone pretty like you die until you had your first kiss."

"...WHAT THE HELL!"


	6. I demand the Truce

I aimed a kick right at his face, despite the fact that at he could easily overpower me if he wanted to. Thankfully, he chose instead to catch my foot in mid air and smirk before letting me go. "As much as I'd like to do foreplay with you," he blocked another kick, "I have some responsibilities to take care of." He was back to his mysterious self which refused to tell me anything important. I kind of wished I didn't pull back from his grasp now...

He turned to leave, what I decided to dub as mass shifting around his legs as if he was going to take off at break neck pace. Most likely, literally. "Wait! you never told me properly who you were!" He didn't look back as he replied, soon after running off into the street and beyond. "That's what I'm going to find out."

I blinked slightly, unsure to his meaning. Did he not know who he was? Was he an amnesiac? I shook my head, walking out of the front entrance to the gallery. This trip had almost been a complete waste of time, besides meeting him, and even then he didn't tell me much. I squeezed through the gap in the vehicle barricade, and swiftly ventured through to the other side, the coast being clear of any bad guys. For once, my luck was picking up.

I knew the way back very easily, which caught me by surprise, usually I forget after about 5 minutes. I received a few curious and worried stares, what with my arm still bleeding and everything, and the cut on my face which would be very difficult to explain. So would the burning gallery and security footage if the security were even still there. Once again a feeling of dread formed in the pit of my stomach, would anyone recover the footage from the security cameras? It was bad enough that I had left my sketchbook behind with my address and room number behind once, I was lucky that the one that didn't want my blood had retrieved it and even returned it to me (once again, that damn creeper). Speaking of the incident in the park, I now also knew what had probably happened to those other marines, I shivered once again at the thought.

In almost no time at all, minus the brief moments of burning pain in my arm and cheek, I was back at the hotel, and Natasha was waiting outside for me; her eye trained on her expensive watch she wore everywhere. Not knowing quite what to say, I said the first thing that came to mind, (bananas) "uh, hey Natasha."

I smiled awkwardly as she looked up and her eyes went wide as saucers, taking in my less than clean appearance, "Alison! What happened?!" She shrieked. I glared and put a finer to my lips in a sign to be quiet, people had begun to stare as a result of my loud-mouthed companion. "Not here, lets go to my room first. It's a sensitive subject." She couldn't really argue, what with me standing there wounded, so we walked inside, Natasha in front to hide me from view. We took the elevator to the top floor where my room (A13) was, and we very quickly unlocked the door, entered, and then closed it. I immediately slumped to the floor near the bed, a tired sigh escaping me, and Natasha sat next to me on the bed.

"So what happened in there?"

She looked legitimately worried about me, and I couldn't help but think that she really was under the influence of Kyle and his goons. "Well, it's a long story, if you want to hear all of it, you may like to get comfortable." She didn't move, and I took that as a sign to continue.

I recapped on the part where right after she left, I had knocked a marine called Williams down, and more of his buddies had arrived with rifles. I deliberately left out the part about the me throwing the grenade, and said that one of the marines had done it which I then deflected. I also missed out the part where the lieutenant said I was going to become a test subject, and told her about Mercer (not using his name) flying through the window and 'knocking them all out'. "After that, I managed to slip away before the person knew I was even there." I finished, hoping she would believe my little lies. Unfortunately she pointed out a little plot hole in my story. "Then how did you get shot?"

Thinking quickly, I blurted out the first lie that came to my head. "They opened fire on me when I deflected the grenade," I praised myself for thinking quickly on the spot, and she seemed to believe me. She looked at my arm and grimaced, "aren't you going to wash and bandage it? It will get infected soon." I looked at her in surprise and then light embarrassment. "I... To be honest, I have no idea how to um... Bandage it properly..." I blushed lightly as she smirked at me, knowing that she would never let this drop. "You don't know how to bandage? That's the simplest nursing and survival skill there is!" I raised my hands in surrender and said "I don't want to be a nurse if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of an art diploma student on my way to the highest grade possible," despite my mocking phrase, Natasha still continued to smirk. "Stop smirking at me, your face will get stuck that way."

Knowing that she wouldn't stop, I got up and walked over to the bathroom. "Where are you going?" I didn't turn around as I replied. "To practice my nursing skills." I had just run the basin full of warm water, and had prepared a damp towel to remove the blood when Natasha barged into the bathroom. "Well at least you know something then." I bristled at her like before, but was surprised when she took the towel from me and started cleaning my wound for me. She wasn't as gentle as Mercer, but she knew what she was doing for sure. Did she want to be a nurse? They way she talked about 'basic nursing skills' lead me to believe so. Natasha was simply full of surprises.

After a minute or more of her dabbing away at the blood, she rinsed the clothing the basin, turning the water a murky red and brown kind of colour. She then bandaged it with some medical bandaged she had pulled out of her pocket. She had done a pretty good job. I looked at her weirdly, which caused her to frown. "What?" She asked me, to which I just shook my head. "You seem like you want to be something, yet you do the opposite when no one is around. Why is that?"

It seemed I was dob on with my accusation, as she panicked and stated "I don't know what you are talking about." I pointed to my arm, "do you want to be a nurse?" Thankfully she didn't take it in the wrong way, and only lightly nodded. "How did you guess?" I smiled at her in an odd way, "you said it was the most basic of nursing skills, and not many people can bandage as well as this so you must of practiced. Plus you were exceptionally calm back there in the gallery. Too calm for the average person." For the first time ever, I saw the side to Natasha that actually was nice. She blushed lightly, showing that really, she wasn't Slutty or mean, but just under the influence of others. "I do want to be a nurse... But I chose to take an art diploma instead..." Daring to make another accusation, I asked her lightly, "because of Kyle?" She nodded again. "I won't pretend I know what you see in him. He obviously is never going to grow up." She glared at me, but her heart wasn't in it. She must of realised that Kyle would never grow up too. "He said he liked girls who were artists and had good fashion sense... I wanted to be close to him as well." Well, this is illuminating...

"And so you took something you didn't truly want to do, as well as dress differently to how you would, in hopes to capture his attention. And you did capture his attention, but he wasn't what you expected him to be?" She had tears in her eyes, but she spoke a small "yes." "You did want to eat yesterday didn't you? But you were dieting for Kyle, am I correct?" She glared at me through the tears, but her lack of words proved I was right. I pulled the plug in the sink, and rinsed the towel in cool water before I murmured something she just about caught. "It's not too late to drop this subject and choose what you really want."

"Who said this isn't what I want?" She snapped, but I don't think that would of convinced anyone. "The fact that you are in tears and clearly regretting your choice says so. Look at yourself, you have talent, yet you are wasting it upon something you don't want to do. Back out now while the teachers are letting you." I gave her the 'I'm not joking around' look parents give their children, and she finally gave in.

"You're right... I don't want this, and... I don't want Kyle either." I smiled at her sadly, knowing what she was going through. I held out my hand towards her, which eventually she took.

"Truce?"

"Truce."


	7. Someone slipped me roofies

Natasha left not long after that, claiming she needed to think of how to begin her new leaf. I didn't blame her, she is practically starting from scratch on everything. Now that I saw how you were meant to clean a wound properly, I refilled the basin and attempted to clean the one on my face. It was no where near as bad as my arm, but it still left enough to leave a scar behind which was once flesh. I sighed, noting that the time was late. The teachers were probably getting worried. I felt a small vibration in my pocket, and remembered that all along I had left my phone in my jeans. I pulled it out and checked the text message I had received. 'I told the teachers you went to bed early, and gave them our notes. Thanks. - N'

I smiled faintly but then it struck me, how did she get my number? I'd have to ask her that next time I saw her. I lied down upon my bed, and groaned when my stomach grumbled so very loudly. I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning... I checked the clock and noted that it was too late to go downstairs and grab something, and I don't even think this place had a vending machine. By unanimous vote, I decided to go out of the hotel and find a fast food place. I had a quick shower, since I left it on the previous settings, and changed my clothes which still had my blood over them, and grabbed my jacket from yesterday. I think I had enough money with me to grab a decent meal. Locking my door behind me and shoving my phone back in my pocket, I made a run for the elevator.

About five minutes later, I had snuck outside under the shadows of the fading sun, and had crossed the street in search for a worthy food joint. I was almost proud of myself for being so sneaky. After following the crowd for a few blocks, I discovered a decent fast food restaurant called 'Joe's Burgers'. I rolled my eyes at the store name and walked inside, the shop being almost completely empty minus the waiter, a chef and a couple in the far corner. I sat down in a table a few metres away from the window, and the waiter made a beeline for me, asking me what I wanted in an almost eager way. "Just a simple burger and chips," I smiled politely, which he returned. "Eating in or out?" "Uh... out please, I don't have too much time here." He nodded in understanding after writing down my order, stating that it was $4 and walked off to the kitchen. I sighed and relaxed a little, looking around the place. It had seen better days by far, but it wasn't too shabby, I could see myself coming here again. I hoped the food tasted nice.

A man wearing a black coat walked through the door at some point, and sat far on the opposite side of the room from me. He wore black glasses, and probably underneath his coat he was dresses formally. I thought to myself 'the fuck? What is this, men in black?'

It didn't help that more than occasionally, he would look in my direction. Eventually he picked up a phone and started talking, to who or about what I didn't know, he kept his voice right down. Soon my order came, and I couldn't of been more grateful. I paid what I owed with a $5 note thing- American currency was still new to me, and mumbled that he could keep the change. I left in a rush with my food, not liking that black coat guy at all. Not after what had happened today. I turned a corner and heard the man walk out as well, and I knew he was following me, of course he was following me. They probably discovered the gallery footage, I knew I should of gone back and trashed the security room!

I walked away as quickly as possible, but not too quick as to make it look like I didn't know I was being followed. I turned as many corners as possible, hoping I didn't run into another one that was like the person behind me. However, my shit luck seemed to of returned.

I turned another corner and walked head first into a marine asshole and his squad. I paled. they all had rifles, and all of them seemed like they weren't surprised by my dynamic and rude entry. "Are you miss Alison Brown?" The one I ran into asked me, making me panic. "Who wants to know?" I replied in as calm a tone as I could muster while looking around for an escape route. "Blackwatch and Gentek want to know. Your coming with us." He made a grab for me, but in the instant that he did, I remembered the marine's reactions in the gallery regarding Mercer. I pulled my best terrified face and pointed behind them all, "It's Mercer!" They all immediately forgot about me and turned around, expecting to be mowed down by the person I had pointed at, but nobody was there. I used this distraction to kick one in the crotch. "Take that asshole!" I yelled as I ran in the direction I came from, while the person I kicked collapsed to the ground with a pained whimper. 'No more kids for him' I smirked.

I ran around various corners and buildings, putting distance between us until I ran into another person who so conveniently stepped into my way, making me drop my food. It was the black coat man... Fuck. He grabbed me by the throat and sneered evilly at me. "You caused us almost more trouble than you were worth... But don't worry, Gentek will take good care of you, you'll be a valuable test subject." I could do nothing but try and breathe as he pulled out a syringe and brought it into my arm none to gently. I cried out in agony, he put it into the same arm as my injury! That fucking asshole!

He dropped me to the ground after the injection, and I collapsed uselessly, much like Kyle did when I did this to him. Except I didn't actually harm him. My brain felt fuzzy, and everything was rapidly growing darker and darker, losing clarity and sharpness. The man above me chuckled as my eyes began to close. He sounded so far away... "The test subject has been secured. Bring in transport to the test facility, this one has caused us much trouble." I had never blacked out before in my entire life, everything had gone numb. Is this what it felt like? I think my last thought... was of Mercer... I wished he was here right now...


	8. Seeing red, good as dead

I think I lapsed in and out of consciousness, not sure whether I was waking or sleeping. I caught snippets of conversations, like names, the word blacklight, and DNA. I came to for a longer duration once, hearing that they planned on making me into something, like a human weapon, but I was dragged back under again by something unknown, most likely more of that nasty syringe chemical.

The final time I came to, I was inside some form of room. I felt like my body had been cut in two, or was being burnt from the inside out. My vision was hazy and my head felt ever so heavy, what the fuck did they do to me? A metal plated window caught my attention, where silhouettes moved about. I took a logical approach and guessed my captors were inside there, watching to see what I did, probably taking notes for their next sick experiment. I staggered upwards, trying to keep my balance as best I could. The scientists seemed to be debating what to do to me first, before a voice emitted throughout the room. "Good. Your finally awake. I was about to send in someone to shock you awake." I scowled at the window, just itching to throw something heavy and dangerous at it. "Fuck you asshole! I hope I manage to get out of here, I'll be sure to splatter your brains on the fucking wall!"

A slight chuckle was heard over the speaker. "I hope not. Initiate the first test."

A door which I previously thought was a wall slowly moved downwards and revealed a crowd of people, all of them moving in awkward ways and groaning in a pained tone. My first thought was that maybe they were like me and that the scientists were just seeing how I would react, but then I saw they were covered in cysts, some bloated in places and others coated in blood. They all were infected with something, and these people wanted me dead. I didn't want them to die, but if I did nothing they would kill me and obviously I didn't want that to happen. I didn't pray, but I hoped that somehow, I would be forgiven for the ultimate sin I was about to commit. Manslaughter.

I ran forwards, faster than before I was brought here which was strange, and I aimed a punch for the closest one. It was sent flying into a few others, a series of snaps and breakages could clearly be heard. I didn't have to look to know what I had done. I felt a sense of guilt take over me unlike it did in the gallery, but then again, I didn't kill those people. I also felt different, like my body had been changed from what it was, once again I thought, what did they do to me? I defended myself from the infected, swarms of them trying to grab me and take a bite out of my flesh, but I simply batted them back with my fists. I had seemed to of gained an immense strength while I was out, and I was using it to my advantage. They screamed as I broke their bones which was the worst part, the crunch being able to travel through me as they shrieked in agony and rage. I just kept destroying them, not wanting to die, wanting to survive. Finally, the only thing that was standing in this room was myself, and I was pissed.

"Got any more assholes!?" I screamed at them in the glass box they had hidden inside. This time, all the reply was "initiate test two." Another door opened, and this fleshy thing was inside, on all fours like a dog. It roared at me, it's hind legs tensing. It was preparing to pounce and what looked like drool was dripping from its maw of razor like teeth. I had to jump out of the way before it could make dinner out of me, it's impact causing a dent in the metal floor. I must of become insane while I was out because I threw myself at it, punching it successfully three times before I was hit into a wall. The wall, Iet me tell you, was definitely not made of pillows and fluff. I hit it, hard enough to almost bounce off it, and I fell to the floor in pain again. "God fucking damn it..."

I got up again and dodged as it launched after me once more, it being stupid enough to slam itself into a god damn wall. I saw my chance while it was dazed, and I kept onto its back, it's outraged roar making the scientist's windows vibrate. Silently hoping that I was strong enough, I took a choke hold around it's fleshy neck, and pulled upwards, forcing it's head to move in ways it shouldn't. I pulled with pull of my might, my arms hurting from it's resistance, but I heard something beginning to snap in it's neck. I gave it one last pull, and it's neck snapped, the body beneath my falling limp under my grasp. I gasped in victory, and released it's head, but then... something leapt from my body to it's own, wrapping back around it. It was almost exactly like the tendrils that Mercer had used against those marines, and the giant monster I had just killed was being dragged into MY body against my will. I panicked and tried to move away but it was no good, more tendrils simply sprouted from my body and they began to absorb it FASTER.

Then the tendrils pushed it into me, it's DNA mutating my own, causing a series of chain reactions in my chemical structure. I screamed, writhing in pain before my arm... Shifted, into a blade that could of been mistaken for steel. I had become what Mercer had become. The snippets of conversation I had heard finally made sense now, they had changed me into a living bio-weapon. A prototype. I was snapped out of my terrified thoughts by that fucking speaker. "Test completed, initiating clean up and removal of the test subject." "WHAT?!"

Fire appeared from the walls, spreading rapidly towards me. "Oh no you fucking don't!" I leapt at the glass box, slashing my newly found weapon against the glass and punching it with my hand that was still normal. "Hurry up and kill it! It's going to break through the glass!" Right as the damn scientist said that, fractures in the glass started to appear, getting closer to breaking with each slice or punch. "I'm fucking coming for you asshole!" I screamed, watching the glass break and fly at the scientists inside. I had gotten free. Everyone panicked, but I ran at them with my blade, red clouding my vision and my rational thoughts. They ALL had to die!

I sliced scientists into bits when they got within my range, blood caking the floor and the walls. There were screams and begs for mercy, but they showed me none, so I used none. I copied what mercer did, cutting them in half, punching out their spines or kicking them into walls, I don't care. I was innocent, and they turned me into this. A monster craving blood.

I made sure to destroy all evidence I could find on myself, they wouldn't know what happened here. I wanted to at least be able to return to the hotel assured that I wouldn't have my name chanted from every marine I walked past. When I finally became more sane, there was just one scientist left. The asshole who brought me here. "Well, how tables turn huh doc? I did say I was going to escape." He wasn't like the others, he just laughed. "You'll never escape , you may be a biological weapon now, but your just a child in an adults world. Doomed to die young." I grabbed him by the throat, much like he did to me, and held him high. "Yeah. But revenge is a bitch". I crushed his throat, a gurgling sound escaping him before tendrils escaped from my body and pulled him in, bit this time a bright flash engulfed my vision.

Memories flooded past, more recent ones being brighter and more vivid, older ones going past like an old western movie. I watched, learning that the military had codenamed me 'HERA', and that they had been planning to capture me before I even came to America. They had been researching families all over the word with strong resilient genes, to mutate into what I had become now. Like before, I heard snippets of conversations, mainly about how I changed when I was out. Soon the memories had faded, and I was pushed away from the neurones and brain cells that weren't my own and I returned to the real world. I was on my knees like Mercer was, after he consumed the lieutenant. I stood up and looked towards the elevator on the opposite side of the room, deciding that it was time to leave this place behind. It was time to begin the long journey from where ever I was back home.


	9. 50,000 zombies or so

Everyone still had food poisoning thanks to the stupid hotel, and Alison still hadn't returned. Ever since I went to check on her yesterday morning to help her with changing the bandages, she was no where to be found. Her phone wasn't in her room, so I texted her although I had yet to receive a reply. I was worried, what if those people had gotten her?

The teachers had asked me where Alison was, but I made up the excuse that she had caught some sort of illness, I said "she probably ate the food from the hotel." The teachers gave a sort of pitying look, as they were also going through the mass poisoning, and left the matter alone. Teachers were so gullible. I went upstairs to check, since it was early morning again and I hoped she had returned by now, wherever she was. I took the elevator straight to the top floor, and made a beeline for the room A13, which I had gotten a spare key from the staff for. I placed the key in the lock, turned it slowly, almost not wanting to go in- just in case she was still missing. Holding my breath, I opened the door.

My heart did a little leap when I saw Alison collapsed on the floor near the window, but my heart soon plummeted again when she wasn't really moving. Just more over curled into a ball and pained groans were coming from her. "Alison?" I asked carefully.

Her head snapped up, and she moved quicker than I expected, she was on her feet and looking as though she was ready to fight me, when it clicked in her head I wasn't a marine or something. Her defence fell, and she fell to the floor with a groan again. "Natasha, what are you doing here..." Her voice seemed weak, feeble even. What had happened? "You've been missing for a day Alison, it was a bit hard to explain to the teachers. I managed to cover for you by saying you got poisoned by the food thankfully. Where were you?" She laughed, a hollow and empty sound coming from someone who when I last saw was full of life. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you..."

"Try me."

She looked up at me again, tiredness etched into her features which looked so uncharacteristic and out of place. She sat up with some effort, managing to crawl her way over to the bed and sit on it. "I don't want to explain everything that has happened, for your own good. But everything I am about to tell you is true." She hesitated,but I gestured for her to continue. What she told me had to be one big blatant lie. She told me she was:

• Kidnapped when she went to go and buy some food from a place called 'Joe's burgers' by some guy in a black coat and glasses.

• They then stabbed her with a needle which then knocked her out.

• After that she woke up in some room, with super strength and improved speed, and she had to kill a hoard of diseased citizens and something that looked like a giant dog which looked like it was made out of flesh.

• The dog was then absorbed by her SKIN which gave her a sword for an arm

• She then was almost turned to a crisp by the same person whom stabbed her with a needle then kidnapped her.

• However she apparently managed to escape by smashing through the glass and killing the scientists who had tried to kill her.

• After that she had to run through an entire military base getting shot at by everyone, and once she escaped the base she had to find her way back here by blending in and asking for directions every so often.

After a good half an hour, she had finished her story, looking even more tired than before. "That is a total pile of bullshit Alison, where were you really? It's impossible to do half of what you just told me!" I have never seen anyone so pissed in my entire life than when I called her bluff. She almost jumped off the bed, and her entire arm changed in front of my eyes, some kind of tendril transforming along her arm into a very sharp looking serrated blade which spanned from her shoulder height to where her knee was. I was speechless, shivering slightly when I realised that she WAS telling the truth. They had messed with her DNA, making her become some kind of monster...

"Does this look like bullshit Natasha? They did this to me, and they have probably done it to others as well!" I stood back, fearful that she may become violent. She noticed this and hurt crossed her face before shifting her arm back. She sat back down on the bed, seemly unknowing of what to say. A few days ago, she was probably the most strongest person I had ever seen, willing to give up her life to save me. And now here she was, broken and depressed. I may not be the most emotional of people, but the sight of her so sad almost made me cry. "The army know who I am. Who I was. They were planning on capturing me, even if I didn't come to America because of my genetics apparently. They are tracking my every move right now. They don't know I'm here, but it won't take them long before they figure it out." She bit her lip in thought, gazing down at the floor over interlocked fingers.

"What will you do?"

She looked up again, no emotion present on her face. "Run away. Hide for awhile. Right now, I have no option but to run. Eventually though I will fight them." "What about school and your family? Your career in art you wanted?" She flinched at the mention of things she considered precious, and for once I was glad I wasn't her. "I'm leaving them behind. For now at least. I'm going to make it look like I was murdered, but you will be the one to ensure that this becomes believable." I didn't like where this was going at all. Set up a crime scene?

"When you leave, I'm going to set it up, and tomorrow morning you will be the one to discover my unfortunate demise."

"What?! No! I will not do that!"

"You have to."

"No!"

"Then questions will be asked, and the teachers will still be here. I did some research while I was destroying the base. There was a viral disease released a few days ago, much like the one I have. It's airborne and spreading fast. 50,000 have already been infected, most of them in this area because that is where it was released. Unless you leave soon, you will all be quarantined here, do you understand me?" She was glaring very intimidatingly at me, not willing to back down and reconsider. I sighed, knowing unfortunately Alison was right, but not liking it one bit. "Fine. But at least text me now and again to tell me you are still alive." "Fine."

I talked to her a little more, asking more about her condition which she seemed reluctant to answer, before she politely asked if I could leave stating that she had responsibilities she needed to take care of. I didn't mind, but I didn't want her leaving to be honest, not with the military out there after her blood. I got up to leave, turning towards the door, but right before I grabbed the handle, she hugged me tight. I felt a little awkward at first, but returned it. "Thanks. Your not a bad person, Natasha. I was just blind."


	10. Pfft, screw gravity (and Isaac Newton)

_I'm so excited! I'm getting through these chapters like a hot knife through butter, and as long as prototype holds an interest to me, I will continue to churn them out daily! Also, a special shout out to 'Thedishwashersamurai123' for being my very first favourite and watch! Thanks you! _

_Enjoy!_

I was walking amongst a crowd alone, with nowhere to go or anyone to turn to, exactly what I have always been afraid of ever since I was young. To make matters worse, it was going to be day soon, and it was STILL raining... What a pain in the ass. But then again, I couldn't complain, my clothes were now a part of my body, so they couldn't really get wet anymore. Right now I was keeping a low profile since I had decimated the military base I had come from, causing masses of collateral damage and deaths, but most all making them regret tearing away my humanity and future as an artist from me. I don't think they will forget what I have done for a long time.

This however still didn't give an answer to my question, what do I do now? I had no one. As if on queue, somebody particularly strong barged through the crowd, knocking everyone over except myself. "Hey, what where you are going asshole!" I yelled at them but I soon shut my mouth when I realised who it was, and who was hot upon his heels. Will my luck ever improve?

It was Mercer, and it looked like he was busy dealing with the army to find out who he was, or at least to learn so,etching about his past. As I thought that, two things struck me. One, I still had my own memories, and two, if something wasn't done soon I was about to be discovered by the army all over again. I started running as well now, those people were getting way to close to comfort. Yells of outrage much like my own went up as I barged through the crowds of people, but I had to be quick to keep up with Mercer, he was almost out of sight already.

Unfortunately though, the army had definitely spotted me, the yells of "it's HERA!" A clear sign that they knew I was there. Kicking my speed up to the max, I had already cleared an entire block in the time it took me to run a normal 100 metres as an average human, I was even feeling confident that I could catch up to Mercer if I really wanted. That was, until he completely defied the laws of physics and ran up a WALL. A FUCKING WALL. Though of course, luck wasn't on my side, and I would have to do or die on this one, no time for thinking, just survival. I closed my eyes as I headed head (haha get it?) first towards the wall, but I didn't feel myself hit a wall, instead I felt my footing change slightly, then it just felt like I was running on normal ground. Peaking through my fingers, I found that I was running up a building wall! I was doing it!

Caught up in my victory, I almost stumbled and fell back down to earth, but thankfully I kept my footing and carried on, all the way to the top and kept going. If I lingered, a helicopter might find me sooner or later, but even that wasn't enough to make me willingly face my next obstacle. My fear of heights. Standing near the edge of the building, I looked for Mercer again. If I wasn't so observant, I probably wouldn't of seen him once again breaking the laws of physics by gliding through the air as though he was wearing a wing suit. I caught the telltale 'chumpa chumpa' of a helicopter heading in my direction, and once again I was forced to do the physically impossible. "Oh fuck my life..." I muttered, getting a head start before practically launching myself off a building that most likely had more than 21 stories. Mimicking the bane of my life, I spread my arms wide, like I was going to embrace someone over-enthusiastically, and aimed right for the building he had just leapt behind. "You ass." I shouted at him, no one really there to hear my mid-flight cursing. In the end, I managed to reach about 3/4th's of the way there, before having to run to and around the building to catch up with him. It wasn't bad, for a beginner. By now, the army had given up the chase, and I was back on Mercer's tail, watching him just turn a corner. Did I mention I hate him? A lot?

Eventually I dared to get a little bit closer, acting like a normal civilian, but I found this situation a little strange. He was choosing to travel on foot, in plain sight no less. Something was squiffy about this situation... Not long after I had that thought, I saw him duck into an alleyway discreetly, as if to not draw attention to himself. Now I do not know about you, but if you have ever read any decent stories (mainly romance novels, and I have), whenever they go into an alleyway, they knew somebody was following them. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I stuck with it, deciding instead it was a better idea to simply walk past the alleyway and continue walking like I wasn't following anyone at all. I did just such a thing, however, it didn't go exactly as I planned.

A hand reached out, and before I knew what exactly what had happened, an arm had snaked its way around my waist from behind (which had a grip like iron), pulled me into the shadows, and a hand had covered my mouth tightly. What I was pressed against certainly didn't feel like a wall. A cold voice that sent shivers through my spine snapped me out of my panic, "Who are you, and why are you following me? Are you with Gentek?" I rolled my eyes but couldn't help feel the slightest twinge of pity, having to constantly watch his back must be hard, even if he is considerably older and smarter than me.

I mumbled my name through his fingers as best I could, making him realise his mistake (that having your hand over somebody's mouth prevents them from talking), and he slowly removed his hand from my mouth. "You already know my name, since you DID steal my sketchbook after all..." Upon hearing my voice properly, his iron grip around my waist also relaxed but he didn't let go, I couldn't help but notice. "This isn't the time or place for jokes, why are you following me kid?"

Now I had pretty much two options here, I could either A: tell him I need his help and explain the last few days, or B: tell him about what Gentek was doing (which was experimenting on innocent people). Neither were appealing right now, so I chose option C. "It's an incredibly long story which neither of us have the time to tell or hear. But the simple gist of is that the army-" "Blackwatch." "...Blackwatch, knew who I was and what had happened in the gallery from the security footage left behind." For a brief moment, I felt his iron grip return around my waist, before softening once again. "They found out where I was staying, who is close to me, which isn't a lot of people really but still, and I was forced to leave. For everyone's safety. Then I saw you walking through the crowd, and I wondered what you were up to."

I guessed he must of been in a similar situation not long ago, as he stayed silent for a long time, not even saying a word. Before I had a chance to ask him if he was alright, I was pulled even closer to him into the shadows, that painful grip returning once again. A squad of marines and a TANK went past, making the normal civilians panic and run away, while I couldn't help but think of the fact of how close I was to him right now, and his almost protective hold around me.

After what seemed like a millennia, they had finally passed, and I was moved to a comfortable distance again. He moved his head a little closer to mine, keeping his voice low, "there is something you aren't telling me, but as I said before this isn't the time or place." He paused as if in mid-thought, "We will talk later, but I will decide the place and time. Until then, find somewhere to hide out in."

He finally let me go, the hand around me retracting. "Don't follow me again. I may not think before I act next time." With the half warning, half threat looming in the air, he walked further into the alleyway, giving me one last glimpse with his ice coloured eyes then jumping away by using his mass to super power his jump. I sighed in irritation and relief. On one side I was relieved because of course he didn't kill me and that he didn't find out I shared his 'condition' yet, or the fact that I had tailed him across the vast majority of the city. On the other hand, he had given me nothing to go on once again, not a single scrap of information, and he still didn't tell me his full name. Asshole.

Deciding that he was indeed right in suggesting I find somewhere to hide for awhile, I quickly discovered an old shop that's sign had become practically unreadable. Not really caring what kind of shop it was since not many were open this early in the morning, I strolled inside. It was pleasantly warm and welcoming, a little doorbell sounding when I opened the door. An old lady with round overly large spectacles sauntered out from what I guessed was the kitchen by the sound and smell of it. "Oh! Welcome to 'The Tea Caddy' dear! Make yourself at home, I just put the kettle on!" I smiled at her welcome and did just that as she went back into the kitchen, choosing a corner seat near the counter rather than a window seat. I'd rather I wasn't given more mutant powers thanks.

As the old lady sauntered back, she placed a dainty cup of tea upon the table, surprising me slightly. "You look like you need it, love," she smiled at me in a way that made me believe she knew what I had gone through. A worried frown creeped onto my face however, "I-I don't have any money though..." Her smile simply increased, and she winked a tiny eye at me. "Don't you worry, we all have to stick together right now, what with the infection and all..."

I returned her kind smile, and thanked her quietly. She patted my head in a parental way, then quickly returned to the kitchen. 'There were good people in this world after all...' I thought to myself in wonder. Just as I had settled down to have the tea I was so graciously provided with, I received a text message from somebody.

In my eagerness to see who it was from, I almost knocked over my tea, but thankfully I didn't. I read the message as soon as I unlocked my phone, and all of my eagerness almost immediately vanished. It was only two words from Natasha, although they may as well of been 10,000. It read:

'They know'.


	11. Kyle and the relationship denial

_Another chapter in a different point of view! A little confusing I suppose, but this chapter is definitely needed to develop characters and the plot line for certain characters_ _a little more_._ Enjoy!_

I had just sent a text message to Alison, telling her that everyone knew about her supposed death now. I had gone up early in the morning (about 7am) to it her plan into motion which I had reluctantly agreed to. What I wasn't expecting though, was how well she had set up the crime scene for me to find. I had taken the elevator straight to the top floor, and almost immediately discovered her door to be completely trashed, splinters lying around in the carpet and the room yonder.

Walking further in, it wasn't just the door that had been destroyed. The bed had also been cut to pieces with what seemed like a blade, along with her luggage and the chest of draws next to the door. Blood had also somehow been splattered across the walls, and even over the bed which was laying upon it's side. The thing that really made this situation believable was the fact that the window had been broken from the inside out, with hints of blood across the remaining sharp fragments of the window. How had she done this with no one noticing?

I then put on my best melodrama face, and screamed loud enough to wake the entire hotel. People came running immediately, staff and students alike. Even the teachers got there at some point, overcoming their sickness due to the hotel food. burst into tears at the sight of the blood and the broken window, while couldn't bear to look at the sight of my college's destroyed room. I put on some theatrics for everyone, like tears, and later when I was asked to explain everything to the police, I asked for a moment to calm down and collect myself. The media and police ate it up. I should of been proud of myself, I made soap operas look even more shitty than they already were, however I felt a slight feeling of guilt twist in my stomach for lying to so many people. 'But it's for a good reason and cause,' I reasoned to myself while I 'gathered my thoughts'.

Eventually we were all gathered in the dinner hall, students and teachers alike, when the unfortunate demise of Alison Brown was announced. Many cried, others were shaking, but just like Alison said, Kyle was almost amused at the thought that she was dead. He acted as though I was in shock, and tried to coax me to his room to 'cheer me up', but I had had enough of Kyle. I suppose in hind-sight, it made my performance look even more real.

"Seriously Kyle? A girl has died today, an extremely good person who has never done anything wrong and had a passion for everything she did, and you are making jokes about her and trying to take advantage of my grief and coax me into your bed?" I began full on shouting at him, obviously taking everyone by surprise, Kyle included, but I didn't care, I now knew how she felt when back at school she told the teachers 'everyone was against her'. "You are nothing but a sick fuck who will never learn what it is to have empathy or to respect another person! I didn't even want to be an artist or dress this way but I became one and changed my style because I liked you, I even left behind the only friends I had!" Tears began forming in my eyes after finally spilling the truth about how I felt, what I really was. It was liberating, and I had to tell them, him, more. "I wanted to become a doctor, a healer or nurse, not become a slut or an artist, yet you went on blind and you treated everyone with no respect what-so-ever, so for once in my life, I'm going to do what I want for a change. This relationship is over!"

Full of emotion in front of everyone, I decided doing something drastic to get my full point across would work. Punching Kyle was simply the best decision I had ever made, besides dumping him of course. I felt the wonderful feeling of pain in my knuckles as my punch connected with his gut, sending him sprawling to the floor, and never in my life did I feel so free. Perhaps I had spent to much with Alison, as when I walked away, tears in my eyes and knuckles bloody, and my head held high, I didn't feel like I was doing the walk of shame from the room.

More like I felt I was doing a walk of victory and freedom.


	12. Two of a kind

_This chapter took me a fairly long time to write, but it was very much so worth it. I think I really nailed the personalities towards the end, and I am certainly looking forwards to writing the next chapter! As the phrase goes, onwards and Upwards! (after this chapter onwards, it may become perverted in places, be gory, or talk about sensitive subjects that should be reserved for older readers. Just a little warning, since this wasn't going to be a bright happy fiction from the start.) _

_Enjoy! _

I was still waiting in 'The Tea Caddy' shop, and it was much later in the day that I finally received a text from the person was waiting on. He didn't send what I expected, like a location or a time, but rather just a question.

'Can you talk?'

I smiled apologetically at the old lady who had kept me company and explained I would at some point pay her back for her hospitality. She replied with a good natured chuckle and a "I hope so! Good luck to you love, I look forward to our next meeting!"

Stepping out of the shop, I walked into the alleyway adjacent, and sent him a reply of 'yes'. A few seconds later, I was almost immediately called by someone of an 'unknown number', meaning it was most likely him. I picked it up, and I didn't have a single chance to speak a word before a voice cut me off on the other side of the connection.

"Where are you?"

"...My dad told me not to talk to strangers."

"You didn't listen very well then. Where are you?"

"You know that place where you cornered me in an alley?"

"..."

"I'm about a block from there, right next to a place called 'The Tea Caddy'. Heard of it?"

"No. But I know where you mean. Stay out of trouble, I'll be there in five minutes."

"I never get into trouble, I don't know what you mean?"

"Just don't move..."

"Fine."

The call pretty much ended there, a dull tone telling me he had hung up. I kept to the shadows like Mercer did before while I waited, watching the streets for anything that could spell trouble. Thankfully, nothing did, but somehow Mercer had managed to sneak up behind me once again and had picked me up bridal style in his arms with no warning, and before I could protest, he jumped from the alleyway, using mass to propel him. "Hey! what are you-!"

I clung to him for dear life, never being more afraid than in my entire short life. "Mercer! You fucking asshole!" Buildings passed rapidly, but I couldn't see where I was exactly due to his constant jumping and running up buildings. It sounded like he chuckled when I called him an asshole and clung to him for dear life, and also I swear he was jumping waaaaay more than needed, I knew he could jump further than this. Man I really fucking hate him sometimes...

At some point, we came to a stop on a housing block rooftop, what looked like a small building with a simple iron door sticking out of the top. "You can let go now you know..." He smirked at me again, something I really wanted to punch off of his face, but at the same time if I tried it probably wouldn't end well for me. I let go of him, but he had also let to of me which meant I went falling onto the floor in a less than grateful manner. "...I really hate you sometimes."

He said nothing, but I knew somehow that he was just itching to say something about me, but thought better of it and helped me up, that damn half smile still attached to his face. "Come on," he said quietly, "It isn't very safe out here." I blinked once, not quite sure if this was some kind of trick or something. Was he actually going to talk to me face to face for once? Without running off half way through? About damn time. I followed him to the door, and entered, with admittedly a slight bit of apprehension. I was entering the home of someone I had only ever read reports on from a military base and had a few sparse conversations with.

I still stood at the door as I watched him walk further in, before realising I wasn't following. "I'm not going to kill you, you know." His eyes gleamed in the dark from under his hood, making the rest of him look certainly dangerous and his words seem like a lie, but as odd as it sounds, I trusted him. Slowly, I walked over and, followed him into what seemed to be the living room. It was odd to see the home of a killer such as Mercer be so modern and tidy, but at the same time quite bare. I suppose it spoke volumes about his personality when nobody was around, and I guess I should be honoured that he trusted me enough to show me this place. There was a computer desk in the far corner, covered in paper, computer screens and coffee cups, which was the only part that seemed like it was actively lived in. There was a couch and sofa near the centre, and a lamp in the corner and on the ceiling, but besides that this apartment seemed pretty empty. I may of been mistaken since there were other rooms, however I guessed being a prototype, you never really need to have that much of a house.

"Is this where you live and work?" He had sat down on the couch, while I had chosen to stand examining the room carefully, like it might slip away from me at some point. "Live, not so much. Work, yes. However the desk over there is my sister's. this entire apartment is. Mine was blown sky high by Blackwatch." He kept his sentences short and to the point, meaning I was treading on thin ground. "Your sister? You mean the one you talked about a few days ago?" He gazed at me, eyes sharp and his gaze intense. "Yes."

Having had enough of looking around for now, I sat on the couch a space away from him, unknowing of what to say. Thankfully, he solved my problem for me. "Back there, you said Blackwatch is after you. How do you know?" My mind blanked in panic, but once again I thought up a lie on the spot. "They found me a few days ago, and one of the marines was stupid enough to tell me why they wanted me captured. I ran, of course, and I was faster than them. The rest was fairly obvious,I couldn't stay around any longer."

"And you faked your own death?"

The fact that he knew caught me by surprise, and he gave me a serious look. "Don't play me for a fool, kid. You escaped a group of trained marines and then faked your death? And did a pretty good job of it too? A highly unlikely story. What are you hiding?" He had called my bluff, and I had no idea how to convince him otherwise. I knew he was smart, but how much had he figured out? "I-I..."

He moved over to me and lifted up my chin to his face so he could examine me again, much like he did at the gallery, but he wasn't as gentle this time. He could tell I was hiding something important, and I wasn't willing to tell him. "Your wound has completely gone as well, in a few days and not a scar to be seen. If you don't tell me what you have been hiding, don't think I won't force it out of you, kid or not." This was too much, and I was in way over my head! I pulled away from his grasp, and immediately attempted to run towards the door, but before I had even taken two steps, he had taken hold of my wrist with his vice grip and twisted it behind my back, pushing me against a wall with Unnessiary force. I cried out in pain as he applied more pressure against it.

"What are you willing to so desperately protect that you are going to give up your life for? You know I could kill you right here, but yet you still refuse. You have no one to turn to, no relatives in manhattan, and you willingly came to me for what it seems like help, yet you expect me to help and trust you when you are so obviously hiding something from me! What is it!?" He had reached his patience end, and now I was going to have a broken wrist of worse if I didn't tell him what had happened NOW. "Alright!" I cried out, the prickle of tears beginning to form in my eyes. "I'll tell you..."

He didn't move, nor release me, so I took it as a sign he was listening. I took a deep breath and steadied myself before beginning my story. "I wasn't completely lying... I did run into marines later on, on the day I met you in the gallery. And I did run, and I thought I got away... But one of them caught me, and stabbed me with a needle..." His grip tightened slightly, "and then?" I whimpered slightly and continued with my story faster. "...And then I don't 100% remember, whatever they put in the needle caused me to lapse in and out of consciousness. When I finally came to for good, I was inside this room which had a glass window, where they... Conducted tests." "What kind of tests?" He pressed, still not letting go. "Tests where I had to kill people, and this fleshy dog thing-" "A hunter?"

I nodded, tears now falling down on my cheeks. He seemed to accept my answer, and gradually let go of my wrist. I turned around, expecting him to be standing still, but instead his arm had transmuted into a slightly larger version of a blade like my own. "W-what are you doing!?" He didn't reply, but moved his arm backwards ready to strike. "N-NO!" He brought his arm towards me rapidly, and without thinking, I shifted my own arm into the blade I had gained from consuming the hunter at the testing facility, and raised it against him to block the incoming attack. At some point I had closed my eyes, but I opened them again when I heard him speak.

"...They infected you."

_Boom! Another chapter done. What did you think? Too depressing? Not enough drama? Well, don't worry too much. From this chapter onwards, shit really starts to go down. I meant violence wise, as well as the development of the relationship between Mercer and Alison. The next few chapters will be out tomorrow! I'm making at least 2-3 chapters a day, so stay tuned!_


	13. A bundle of adorable fluff

_Hello again everyone! Another chapter for you all today, just like I promised. I hope you are all enjoying it thus far :) This one is a tad bit short, but still something to develop the plot at least. It's developing quite nicely! Also, I have yet to recieve god god damn review xD I can't make it more awesome with out all of your help!_

"...They infected you." My heart plummeted as I realised my arm had shifted into a blade to defend myself from his attack. I couldn't say anything in reply, nothing to improve the situation at least other than an ashamed and fearful "yes..." His face portrayed no emotion, except from those eyes of his which told me he was caught off guard and if I read correctly, distressed. "Why didn't you-"

"Alex! I'm back from the shops!" A female voice called as the door opened to the living room, surprising the hell out of both of us. In the doorway, stood whom I guessed was his sister whom seemed to be a fan of converse shoes, hoodies and simple t-shirts, since she was wearing some. She stared in horror at her brother, then me. She dropped the bags she was carrying, and began backing out of the room, "Alex, what the fuck is going on?" His arm reverted back to normal before speaking, "Dana, let me explain-" "explain what? The fact that you are attacking a little girl?" (Little girl? I was almost an adult thanks) "Or the fact that it looks like YOU have infected her?"

She ran out of the room, her scary brother in tow. "Dana! Calm down for a second..." Their voices faded out into the background of the apartment, both of the siblings completely forgetting I was still here. I guessed they must have a really strained relationship, considering that he had no memories of his past as far as I knew, and to regain them back, he had to consume people's memories, killing the person in the process. To have a mass murderer and biological weapon for a brother must surely keep her awake at night...

Staying where I was, I examined my blade arm, noting that compared to Mercer's blade, it was more suited to be used for speed attacks and un-armoured enemies than defence and taking down large targets. It was much sharper, and definitely lighter than his, like a katana while his resembled a broad sword. Changing my arm back, I flexed my arm in different ways, making sure it was truly my own before talking caught my attention.

"So she is HERA?" It was Mercer and his sister, talking in quiet tones so I supposedly couldn't hear. "Yes. Gentek has apparently taken to infecting specific people now. She was the unlucky winner." "But she's just a kid, how could they do that?" "They are less human than anyone infected. You should know that Dana, you've seen what they've done." There was a brief pause in the conversation, as if they were both hesitant to address the next matter. "...So what do we do with her?" "I'm not sure. We can't have another blacklight host running around the city, not unmatched at least." "Doesn't she have any relatives here?" "She doesn't live here Dana, she was here on a school trip and lived back in England with her father and step-mother, and two brothers. An older brother, and a younger one with autism. She also happens to have no friends." 'Harsh much Mercer? You can't exactly talk', I thought to myself bitterly, 'at least I made a friend before I technically died.'

"The teachers and students will know she is missing won't they?" Another pause, longer this time. "She faked her own death. Trashed the room she was staying in along with all of her artwork, clothes and electronically devices other than her phone. She's smart, it's almost as if she planned it..." "Was she bullied...?" "It seems so." I felt sad listening to them pretty much summarise everything about me, and the truth was, I had planned how to fake my death if the need ever came up. I just never thought it would... I had often thought of running away, what I would take with me, what would I really need in emergencies, that kind of thing. I was and still am paranoid, but I guess in the end it pays off to be so.

"Can she be trusted?"

That question really hurt if I was honest, but I listened in all the same, curious to see his reply. "Thus far, she hasn't given us a reason to distrust her, and she has a sense of honour at least. I doubt she would sell us out, we are in the same boat together here." Seemingly convinced, I heard them continue to talk about things, some concerning me, others not, but I had gone more than 24 hours without sleeping, and I was beginning to pay the price. With my eyelids drooping, and my body feeling increasingly heavy, I thought that for once, maybe, I could sleep for awhile, without worrying about my future- or my past.

The two Mercer siblings eventually returned to the room, prepared to explain everything to Alison, before noticing she didn't move when they called her name. Fearing something had happened, Dana reached down to check, before moving away again. "She's fast asleep. She must of stayed awake ever since she escaped Gentek, and now it's caught up to her..." She couldn't help but smile softly at the girl whom had curled into a ball shape for warmth, her short wavy hair covering her face like a veil. "it's hard to believe someone so cute could be a blacklight host, it just doesn't seem very likely." Dana commented, moving away a strand of her hair from her eyes. "I'll put her in the spare room," Alex muttered more to himself than to Dana, but Dana caught what he said anyway. As he had picked the slumbering teenager up in his arms and carried her into the spare room, Dana couldn't help but feel the relief enter her system. The relief of Alex having another person he seemed to care about, and could relate to, even if only a little.

_What did you think of my first attempt at 3rd person? In my own opinion it could be better, but I don't use 3rd person very often. I think I need to practice a little bit more first before I launch head first into another chapter using it. _


	14. Life in hell is going swell

_This chapter is dedicated to my very first reviewer! Thank you!_

I think the first thing I noticed was the smell of freshly washed clothes when I came to. The second thing was that somebody I couldn't see was playing with my short hair, gently tugging it occasionally, and the third thing I noticed was the fact that I was on a bed in a different room than before. "...What the...?"

The same female voice that belonged to Mercer's sister caught my attention immediately, "oh! good morning, sorry if I woke you..." I tilted my head to see that my head was resting on her lap, making me feel highly embarrassed at the thought. "Uhm... H-hi?" I stuttered out, making her smile in a way that made me think she thought I was a kitten whom had been abandoned, which definitely wasn't true. I had done the abandoning, not vica-versa. It kind of didn't help she was playing with my hair, so no matter how hard I would try, I could never get pissed off when playing with my hair made me so calm. She stopped playing with my hair for a moment, and kind of introduced herself in a weird way, "Alex isn't here at the moment, he is out chasing a lead, but my name is Dana if you were wondering, though I'm guessing you kind of guessed that after Alex called me it before you passed out practically in the living room. He's the one who carried you in here." Wait what? HE had carried me? after almost impaling me with his freaking blade? I shuddered at the thought, yet somewhere in my traitorous mind, a part of me felt happy he kind of cared enough to make sure I wasn't sleeping on the floor or against a wall.

"Ah... Um.. Dana?" I paused for a second, hoping I wasn't being rude, "...Can I please sit up?" Without missing a beat, she replied with a quick "huh? Oh! Yeah," and an apologetic grin before moving. I'm guessing she had a pretty much bulletproof ego, considering I could of apologised endlessly and felt very awkward in her place. I sat up, and stretched my arms quickly, yawning in the process. "Thank you, but uh, how long exactly have I been out of it for...?" Dana replied with a small sympathetic smile, which ever so slightly began to irritate me (I hated sympathy most of the time) and another quick statement. "You've been out for almost a day, but after what Alex told me you must of had it really rough." She paused as if deciding whether she should say the next bit, "He seems to care a lot about you, which is a relief if I'm honest..."

Eventually she stood up, claiming "I have to get back to researching Gentek and Blackwatch, but feel free to explore and ask me any questions you can think of, you'll be staying with us for awhile by the looks of it." I nodded, planning on finding the bathroom and taking a shower, but then I realised something. How was I going to take a shower, when my clothes practically WERE my skin? Swallowing my pride (which was an incredibly painful thing to do), I called out to Dana before she left. "Dana wait!" She paused, looking at me curiously. "I uh... Does he take showers... Being a prototype and all...?" I felt a hot flush adorn my cheeks as Dana visibly tried not to laugh, knowing that what I asked, was probably a very stupid question. "Y-yes! Of course, I wouldn't let him wander around the house stinking," she laughed at last, making me feel even stupider than before. "Thanks Dana..."

Getting up off the bed I had been placed on a day previously, I stretched again, and immediately searched for the bathroom. It didn't take long for me to find, and I really wanted to have a shower so bad, staying awake for 24 hours plus made a person feel as though they were dead. Once I had closed the door (and locked it, which was useful), I then had to figure out how to take my clothes OFF. The only consoling thought to me, was the idea that once Mercer had to go through this embarrassing stage too. It brought a smirk to my face thinking of him being embarrassed, but at the same time made me blush at the thought of him stripping down. BAD ALISON, BAD! I scolded myself firmly.

Eventually, I thought up the idea of shifting my body like I did with my blade arm, and sure enough, it worked. I wasted no time in getting in the shower and enjoying the cold pour of water (yes, cold. I needed waking up properly). After approximately half an hour, I stepped out, and dried off, which then presented me with a new problem. What exactly would I wear now? Considering I could practically choose almost anything, I chose my most favourite outfit ever. A black 'no fear' hoodie that was actually meant for a man, a grey and white stripped loose shirt, dark blue jeans and of course dark coloured boots. My custom made necklace would always be with everything I wore, it meant a lot to was weird, but was the tendrils formed the clothes I usually opted to wear, it felt almost natural to me.

I came out of the bathroom at some point, and had decided that since I felt like I had been completely revived, I would try talking to Dana again- she seemed nice enough, just it was initially a little creepy with they fact she was watching me while I slept... I walked into the living room, fully expecting Mercer to not be there, however he was, and he was slouched over the couch like any normal person would do when they were tired, arms hanging off the side limply and legs just about reaching off the end, hood covering his face almost completely. My mind couldn't help but think he looked kind of handsome in a sense, but I immediately wafted the thought away. Dana was at her desk, typing away and occasionally writing but stopped her work when I entered the room. Even Mercer decided to look up when I quietly stepped inside the room, looking considerably better than I did when he last saw me. I felt incredibly awkward, both of the siblings staring at me at once. "...um, was I interrupting something...?"

Dana was the first to break the unnerving silence, "not really, I was just researching more leads, Alex is just being a slob..." She joked at his expense, receiving a slight laugh from Mercer. "A slob? A bit harsh... After everything I do as well..." He rested his hands behind his head, a slight smirk held upon his lips as Dana laughed in return. It was like everything was normal, and even I smiled at the playful banter. "Alex, shift your ass, let the girl sit down damn it," she laughed again, but no movement was seen other than the growing smirk on his face. "Not unless you make me, and I don't think you can," he replied, a good natured challenge in his words. Dana was about to throw a screwed up piece of paper at him, but knowing how older brothers worked, I ignored the thoughts of awkwardness that may follow and swiftly sat upon the space on the couch of which his legs covered. Even Dana seemed a little surprised at the boldness of my move, but I just smirked at him regardless. "You said 'make me', convinced enough yet?"

He simply closed his eyes, his damn grin never fading. "I'd rather not, I'm quite comfortable here. Try all you may, I won't move." With Dana still watching and Mercer having his eyes closed, I grinned, an evil thought entering my mind. I mouthed the words 'have you got a pen?' with a scribbling gesture, to which she grinned, and immediately tossed me her biro she was using prior to my idea. I caught it silently, and moved the pen towards his face, determined to draw a moustache on the bane of my existence.

Dana watched with growing amusement as I almost managed to barely draw the very first line of the moustache on his face, before his eyes snapped open and he caught my wrist just in time. Dana was almost doubling over with laughter, and even he seemed amused with my flimsy attempt at getting him to move. "Nice try, but not good enough." Racking my brain hard for ideas, I thought of one idea I had never tried, but always thought of trying at some point. "Please may I have this seat I may or may not of already claimed?" I smiled as sweetly as I could, most probably looking really cheesy, but it was worth a try.

"Nope." I was shot down with a single word, and I glared at him with an intent to kill. "You asshole." "I know." "..."

I felt sorry for Dana at this moment, but I had yet to try my very last resort. Dragging him off with my bare hands, which could only turn out WELL right? I eventually stood up, letting him think he had won (which he did, he had a fucking Cheshire Cat grin by now), before casually walking behind the couch and ever so 'gently', tipping it over. It worked, I had dislodged him from the sofa, Dana being in tears from her laughter, and I had successfully jumped onto the couch, looking incredibly smug with myself. Mercer however, was not happy with my victory over him, him being sprawled out upon the floor below the couch. "Your right, it is quite comfortable, thank you SO much for letting me sit down" I grinned, right before he got up with an unreadable expression and lied right back down. Right on top of me. By the sound of his voice, he seemed immensely smug with himself. "But not as comfortable as this," he chuckled.

"Dana, could you please help me get your brother off my lungs? I like breathing," I mumbled from underneath his jacket which was currently smothering my face. She just continued laughing, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Ok then... Plan E..." If he had any idea of what I was about to do, he certainly didn't go to any length to stop it. I wrapped my arms around his torso, and using my full strength, rolled him off the couch, along with myself included. It was tough, but I managed to shift the god damn asshole off the couch and onto the floor again, sparing my lungs for another day. I stayed still for a second, the only sound being our breathing and Dana's laughing which still had not stopped. I then realised I had my face resting upon his chest, noted by the gentle rising and falling motion, along with the rest of my body on top of his on the FLOOR. I looked up into his smirking face, when he just had to say that one damn sentence didn't he?

"If I'd known you liked me that way maybe we could of taken this to a different room..."

My face lit up like the 4th of July (or November 5th, if you were English), and I immediately rolled off him, smacking my head against the floor to rid myself of the dirty images he had deliberately planted in my mind. "My offer still stands," he smirked at me, knowing I was embarrassed and following every line of bait. I just replied with a quite simple, "fuck you asshole," and more smacking my head against the floor. Life here, was going to be fun indeed.


	15. I kick a crater in his chest

_This chapter is possibly the longest one I have written, and finally we see some decent interactions between Alison and Alex :D yaaaaaaay! I really hope you enjoy! :3_

After much embarrassment, and a slight scolding from his younger sister Dana, Mercer finally stopped teasing me (about time asshole) and had decided to take me on a 'walk' with him. Oh if only I had seen what was coming, maybe I would of politely declined his supposed invitation. It turned out, this 'walk' was actually his way of either tormenting me further, or making me look incredibly stupid and undeserving of these new powers I had been... forcefully given.

We stood upon the edge of a building, just on the edge of the apartment, and Mercer was already making me nervous again. "Nervous?" he asked me quietly, his eyes piercing though my act, and noticing my growing apprehension. I nodded, not really wanting to say why, but he asked me why anyway. "I don't like to admit it, but I'm afraid of heights..." There was no laugh, no joke at my expense which is what I wouldn't of minded at this point, but instead a stern and serious warning. "Fears from your previous life will only get you killed now, rather than protect you. I suggest you get rid of them now, before you end up in a situation that will ultimately lead to you death because of your fear."

I hung my head slightly in shame, knowing that he was indeed, correct. Blackwatch had no trouble sending out strike teams against a teenage girl, as I had seen firsthand, and having fears as such would only get me killed. Although I wasn't really looking forward to getting rid of them, because knowing him, his method to rid me of my fear would not be kind and gentle. He pointed to a building across the street below us, slightly smaller than the one we were currently standing upon. "Jump to it. No hesitating, no thinking, just do." Making sure he got a healthy glimpse of the full on glare I was giving him, I did just as he asked (with less hesitation than usual), jumping all the way to the other side of the street. Standing from my impact, I saw him follow me across, obviously making me look so very inferior. The way he jumped made me think he had been doing it for years, even almost making it look graceful (Mercer? Graceful? HA!).

Standing as well, I prepared myself for the oncoming criticism, and he did not disappoint. "For a beginner, that WOULD of been good. However, you are not a beginner at jumping, this much I know. You are thinking far too much about the human way of jumping." The way he stressed human made me feel slightly uncomfortable. I was human, wasn't I? Just with a very weird and possibly fucked up disease. "You need to crouch down when you jump, and use the mass in your legs to force you forwards. Do it again," he gestured to the next building, that was closer by about 5 metres or so. Having to swallow my pride for the second time this day, I adjusted my stance to his exact specifications, and using the mass within my legs, pushed myself off and went flying through the sky. It's probably a good thing people almost never look up, because I flew twice as far as I did before, and I would of surely startled more than a few civilians!

Getting the landing was a tad bit tricky though, further distance meant that the impact was going to be harder, so I thought I'd trail something and use the mass within my body to soften the landing. I hit the ground hard, the ground I landed on showing noticeable cracks and crevices, which if I was a normal person probably would of offended me greatly. The landing didn't actually hurt as well, which surprised me. I guess the mass I used prevented any damage to myself.

Mercer wasn't far behind and instead of giving me more criticism, he actually was ever so slightly impressed. "Not bad, but let's see you do that without stopping. In a lengthy chase, it's important to be able to out-manoeuvre Blackwatch. In this case, jumping from rooftops to put distance between ground troops and ourselves." With only a quick warning, he jumped off the roof and ahead of me. "Keep up!"

Once again, I really wanted to punch him so bad...

I followed, leaping from buildings to keep up, and I even had to glide in places, since he could really out jump me by a long shot. He didn't go easy on me at all, but with each jump and every rush of adrenaline that coursed through what I think was still my veins, I felt my fear of heights begin to loosen from my shoulders from which it was so strongly attached, and gradually fade away. We kept jumping for awhile, Mercer always in front, me slightly behind or just about by his side, before he finally skidded to a halt in front of building with a plain brick wall about 8 metres high running up it's side. I stopped just by him, and spotting his faint smirk, I know he had something really mean planned for me. "Time to test another skill we have in our arsenal. Wall running," tensing his whole body, he ran at the wall faster than I thought any sane person ever would, but surprisingly enough he stuck to the wall and scaled it within a few seconds. He was a show off as well as an asshole...

"Wall running is the quickest way besides jumping we have to get up to high places quickly. You have to not stop running once you start, because if you do, you'll just fall back to earth again. Try it." He practically commanded, watching me expectantly with those eyes of his that seemed to know or suggest he knew almost everything about me (which he probably did). Hoping not to disappoint, I ran full pelt at the wall, hoping that I would stick to the wall like I did during my wild chase after the person I was training with now, and away from the people trying to kill me. Fortunately, I did, and had made it all the way to the top right before I managed to trip over upon a damaged brick, and I began my plummet downwards just as Mercer had said. I was just about to brace myself for the impact (it wouldn't of hurt that much, it wasn't that big a drop), when a hand reached out and snatched my hand into his, effectively stopping my fall in its tracks. He smirked at me as I dangled below him, completely at his mercy.

"Not bad. Better than I expected, I may of even saluted you if you got up here without help-" "oh don't bullshit me Mercer! You are too mean to even think of that!" I yelled at him, my fear of heights rapidly coming back to haunt me as he held me in place. He raised an eyebrow at me, another smirk taking over his sharp features. "Oh really? I was going to help you up, but if you insist on that then I'll just let you drop..." The wind whistled in my ears as he talked, but I heard him perfectly clear. "You wouldn't... Would you?" I asked in a very tiny voice as I stared up at him, knowing that he was very unpredictable and could be very mean on occasion, as I had learn first hand. "Wouldn't I?" He asked me in return, and I felt his grip loosen around my wrist.

"No!" I yelped, terror settling in the spit of my stomach. "Please don't!" His grin rose to Cheshire Cat proportions once again, "I... I'm sorry..." I mumbled, hoping he would let me up now but he wasn't finished thrououghly embarrassing me. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He removed one of his fingers which made me yelp again as I came dangerously close to falling, "I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just... Please let me up!" I said, my feet trying to gain contact against the wall. Satisfied with my 'voluntary' reply, he finally let me up, pulling me up the rest of the wall with a swift tug of my arm.

I breathed heavily where I sat on the edge of the building, gripping the ground like it would disappear from my grasp at any moment. I stood up after a minute or so, Mercer watching with interest my recovery of the narrow miss with gravity. I don't think it was my fault that I finally snapped, after being tormented by him ever since I met him. I sprung at him without even thinking of what I was doing, aiming directly for that fucking smirk. He didn't expect me to swing for him, let alone at the ferocity or speed I had used. He narrowly dodged, my fist missing the air but I wanted pay back for all of the damn teasing he had done damn it!

I ran at him again, letting out an almost barbaric war-cry, and flung a variety of attacks at him, punches, kicks, jabs and even sweeps of my leg to knock him over, but nothing seemed to touch him. Frustrated and out of my mind, I shifted my arm into the razor sharp blade I had gained back at the Gentek base, and for once I didn't care if he helped me or not, I was going to cut his fucking limbs off! "I'm sick of you teasing me! Being perverted and turning everything I do into some stupid joke! I shrieked at him in anger. Realising that I was getting serious and using more and more strength all the time, he too used his blade arm, blocking all of my attacks but at the same time not managing to get one in on me either. "God. Fucking. Damn. YOU!"

I didn't even think it was possible, but somehow I had broken through all of his defences, and had managed to kick him square in the chest off of the building, where he had previously been dangling me from. I saw his eyes widen a fraction as he fell, his arm changing back to what it was prior to my little fit of rage. What I didn't see until he had already hit the ground below, was the crater in his chest, right where I had kicked him with everything I had. I looked at him from above, my rage subsiding and an immense sense of guilt taking it's place. "...Mercer...?" I called to him quietly, hoping that he would sit up after a second and smirk at me the same way he was before, but then again that was (I think) what caused this, so maybe not, but at least for him to let me know he was alright. He didn't respond, which increased my worry tenfold. "Mercer? Hello?"

Unable to stop myself, I jumped down next to him, leaning over his supposedly lifeless body. "Mercer! Wake up, for gods sake!" I shouted before hesitantly adding, a sorrowful tone within my voice. "Please... Alex. I need you to wake up... I'm sorry for losing my temper..." His eyes snapped open, his eyes staring up at me with something I couldn't place at this moment in time, who was still leaning over him. "...You finally stood up for yourself, kid."

Not believing he was still somehow breathing, I reached down and hugged him tightly, completely forgetting that he had started this anyway. "You're ok!" I said in an incredulous voice, my head resting upon his shoulder. An amused chuckled tickled my cheek as it vibrated through his body. "Of course. You barely scratched me, but considering your reaction, maybe I should of let you injure me more..." I pulled back just enough to see, looking at him in confusion before looking at the place in his chest where the crater I had created previously with my monstrous kick would of been. "But.. I had-" "hurt me? That's probably another thing I should tell you. We regenerate from our injuries after a few moments or so. Depending on how many people you have consumed recently, it affects how fast we regenerate, or if we can regenerate at all." I shivered again as he so casually talked about 'consuming' people, I don't think I would ever get used to that.

"Then, I never actually hurt you in the first place...?" I asked hesitantly, which for once he replied seriously to. "...You did, but not enough to cause any serious damage. But I suppose I have to commend you, you are the first one to injure me this bad." I felt a strange sense of pride when he praised me, but at the same time I couldn't help but wonder, what was that in his eyes when he first stared at me before? I began to pull away, but he gently tugged me back as he sat up from the Alex shaped imprint on the roof. He completely blew my mind as he returned the hug, my blush and mind running rampant. "Good work. But from now on don't expect me to go easy on you. To go easy on you now, would be to insult you."

He pulled away, leaving me slightly stunned at his gesture and words. "I have to go and 'chase another lead' as Dana puts it, can you find your way back from here?" He asked, a hint of concern adorning his voice which seemed so out of character for him after what I had seen. I nodded in confirmation, my voice failing me right now. "Good, I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Dana that too." He nodded to me, he faced away, and after a quick but powerful leap, was once again on his way to god knows where. I felt kind of sad watching him leave, but Blackwatch wasn't going to destroy itself, (well, maybe it might...) and he had a memory to regain.

I made it back to the outside of the apartment in record time, avoiding all forms of military contact, and I felt even more proud than I did before. I sighed in content as I had finally seemed to make a solid bond with him, going as far to say as he had a half reason to trust me. Checking to see if my phone was still in my pocket, I emptied my left jean pocket. Surprisingly, after everything that had happened, it was, and apparently I had received 3 texts and a missed call. I read the texts first, before checking who had attempted to call me.

One of the texts was from Mercer, asking me to make sure Dana was safe for him. Upon asking him 'why?', I received no explanation. The other two texts were from Natasha, 'We are on our way to the airport now, but the army stopped us, should I be worried?' And 'We are just about to get on the plane, the army mentioned something about us 'being clean' and let us pass, thank god. good luck with whatever you are doing Alison, I'll miss you.' I smiled at the two texts, feeling relief come over me. I went to check who I had missed a call from, and I almost dropped my phone after discovering whom the call was from.

The call I had missed, was from my parents.


	16. I'm probably a stalker person

_Oh my goodness! I am getting such a good reaction with my fan fiction! and I do not joke when I say this, but I write this mostly off the top of my head with only a brief idea if where this story is actually going. I only plan a chapter ahead at a time just so you know, but I have a general idea of where it will end up, so. Don't worry about it dragging on waaaaay to long, but if it receives enough praise, I WILL make sequel ;) and it will be MY way, not Prototype 2's shitty way where the main protagonist becomes the villian without much explanation! _

_By the way a huuuuuuug shout-out to my current followers, faithful reviewers, and generally awesome people: Dodectron, (for my first few reviews which made me laugh so damn hard) and rin7434, (for making my entire lifetime after saying that I got Alex's character perfect. I love you person!). _

_This chapter is for all you god damn fan girls out there._

I was back inside the apartment by now, chatting with Dana (pleasantly avoiding any details with what I had done or what HE had done), and I asking questions about what exactly she did at her desk all day long. It was dark outside too, since it wasn't exactly early when Mercer and I left, the moon coming out to peek through the curtains and say 'hello'. To counteract the darkness, the screen from Dana's computer(s) glared harshly, and a small table lamp lit up the moderate sized apartment with faint flares of an off coloured orange. While Dana was sitting on her chair at the desk, I was sitting with my chin resting on my knees, arms wrapped around my legs as though they were a lovely plush teddy bear. "I gather intel for Alex to chase up, sometimes literally. The intel I receive is mainly on higher ups involved in either Gentek or Blackwatch. The two coincide with each other, which means more cyber security for me to get past but so far we have managed to find everything we need. Browsing the deep webs is pretty easy, once you figure out how to avoid the cops beating down your door and how to get rid of your proxy."

I nodded in understanding, taking in the information with great interest. "I had a hacker friend who told me about the deep webs, back in England. He knew how to do some of the stuff you do, but not as well. Apparently we don't see 96 - 97% of the information what is actually on the web, is that true?" Dana, grinned and nodded with enthusiasm. "Yep, that's a nasty lil' secret the government really don't want people to know, but it's definitely true. Basic hackers have to learn how to get rid of their proxy I.D before they can so surfing inside the deep webs, but some of the stuff you find there is so fucking unbelievable. Most of the stuff you find, is either on terrorist acts, conspiracies, or-" "people like Blackwatch and Gentek?" She nodded, learning that I wasn't a complete idiot when it came to hacking and the Internet.

"You know, I'm still surprised you want to become an artist, if you weren't so caught up in your journey to 'master all forms of traditional art', I could see you becoming one hell of a savvy computer tech, especially with how observant and knowledgable you are. To be a serious hacker, you got to have plenty of each category." I sighed, half playfully, half sorrowful. "Maybe I could of been, but I don't think I could do either one now. Not with my current... Forced circumstances."

Out of the corner of my eye, caught a pitying look on Dana's face, which irritated me slightly. I didn't really want sympathy, I wanted my old life and future back. Watching Dana yawn almost dramatically, with a stretch for good measure, she got up and claimed, "I'm gonna kick it for tonight. You might want to soon as well, Alex will probably be back soon and he is always grouchy after coming back from his uh... 'Adventures'," she told me seriously before walking towards where her room would be. "Don't worry about me, and when you say it like that, you make it sound like he is off chasing butterflies and riding unicorns or something equally surreal," I chuckled lightly, receiving a laugh and a tired " "he probably is, goodnight" from Dana.

After a few minutes, I heard no further noises in the apartment, other than the slight groans or creaks of the couch I was sitting on whenever I moved or shifted my position. It gave me time to think over the past, recent and old, regardless of when it happened it was still dragged up from the depths of my mind. I reviewed the changes in myself in the past week or so, starting with my personality.

When I thought back to the scene on the bus with Kyle and Natasha, I must of been blind to not notice the hesitation in her eyes, and the slow replies I had received from her. I thought it was down to her intellect being below my own, but as fate had so forcefully paired us together, I had learned she was actually very intelligent indeed. Kyle however, I was completely correct about. I missed Natasha strangely enough, after only truly knowing her for less than a couple days (and after he making my life hell for a long time before that). I wondered if she was alright, and I thought back to the texts she had sent me. Yes, she was far from here, and completely uninfected- she would be just fine, I concluded to myself. I didn't really want to think about the idea of never seeing my dad again, but my mind had other ideas. My step mother and younger autistic (mentally diseased) brother I could definitely live without, they made home life hell, but I wasn't sure about my older brother. He was an anomaly, unpredictable and as irrational as Dana's older brother, Mercer.

He seemed to enjoy my company and had accepted me as the person he could truly talk to in the family and would actually listen, but had on more than one occasion blackmailed me into keeping quiet on his debt (caused by his girlfriend) and his personal problems. He constantly had wild mood swings, and he didn't feel guilt at all, so I could really hate him on occasion, but at the same time I knew he was suffering inside. Then there were times where I loved him to bits. I loved gaming, more specifically I loved first person shooters or indie games. I had particularly fell in love with an indie game called 'Journey' (and I still am in love with it), and for my birthday/christmas present (my birthday was on the 5th of January, so people often get me one present to cover both occasions), he had ordered a custom made Journey pendant/necklace from off the Internet. It had the game font spelling out the name of the game on one side, and on the other it had four 'call symbols' your character could get within the game, all beautifully crafted from stainless steel (which is waterproof, so it would never rust).

It arrived a month late for my birthday, but he still got me it, and no matter what, I will wear this necklace everywhere- but I couldn't base my decision off presents. More than once had he tried to bribe me from telling our parents about the bad things he had done with offering to let me on his computer when he wasn't there. Now that I thought about it, he seemed too much like Mercer in my opinion, although my brother wasn't as perverted... And had a lighter sense of humour.

With an irritated sigh, I got up from the couch which no matter what angle I sat on it I would never get comfy on, and went to sit on the window ledge that peaked out enough to do let a person do such a thing. I assumed the same sitting position as before, and continued thinking, noting it was 01:05 P.M on Dana's locked computer screen.

My mind was now dragging up old memories from England, like all of the times I would sit at my paint/pencil coated desk and type away on my iPad, writing or painting various things that caught my attention long enough for me to complete such a task. I saw my dad and my step mother, laughing as we let the pet rabbit we had wander around the living room shyly, before becoming daring and venture into corners and behind it's indoor cage. I saw my little brother before he became something I loathed (which was a very long time ago), playing games in his room and I was playing with him, laughing as a funny cutscene from 'destroy all humans' played across the screen, and finally I saw my older brother burning pasta in the kitchen as I tried to teach him how to cook, even though it was almost impossible to preform such a feat of stupidity as it was readily prepared in the packet.

I even saw myself, walking alone along a path flanked either side, by low hanging cherry blossom trees that were in the height of full bloom. I had my bag at my side, music playing in my ears and my sketchbook with me, an incredibly cheesy grin on my face as my favourite childhood music (S club 7, don't stop moving/reach) was blaring though my ears.

Sitting alone in such a pensive mood, the full effect of the fact that I was far away from everything I had ever loved took hold, making me feel for the first time in truly ages, completely alone- and helpless. Salty tears welled up from my eyes after going so long without crying, helping me release the pent up emotion I had held inside in a much less destructive way than I had demonstrated with Alex.

I had pulled the hoodie I had generated earlier in the day further over my hands and let the tears begin to fall, when my mind was literally blasted with strong and vivid images of some woman whom had (orange?) strands of short hair covering parts of her face, and some kind of full body suit, standing inside of a large hole in the wall. Her face from the distance I was viewing her from looked mostly neutral, but upon closer inspection had the slightest hints of a satisfied smirk. A raspy voice filled my head, making me involuntarily shudder. "I am free..."

It was over in just a few seconds, but it left me feeling like something had cracked my skull open and used a blow torch to scramble the insides, but more importantly the vivid 'video' that had fucking been downloaded into my brain without my permission had left me very worried and confused. I signed nor read no fucking terms and conditions contract, so somebody was going to get their ass handed to them if I found out who had been screwing with my head! However, at the back of all of my confusion, I just hoped nobody was going to start downloading some nasty porn or something directly into my brain...

Mercer was bad enough with his perverted suggestions all the time.

Thinking of Mercer, I briefly wondered if he had something to do with this freaky woman invading my head. If so, what exactly had gone on, and was he ok? I looked at the clock again, and much to my irritation it was only ten minutes since I last checked.

Where the hell was Mercer?

Deciding that I wouldn't sleep until he got back, and myself being so thoroughly shocked out of my depression by the creepy lady, I resigned myself to 'borrowing' a blank piece of lined paper from Dana's desk along with a recently sharpened pencil and a hardback book to lean on, before I began sketching. I ended up sketching blank figures with no physical details preforming dynamic poses, like in some weird kind of dance. I drew about three, each one preforming a different yet somehow linked pose or dance. The last one I think I had just about finished sketching, finalising the lines with a harsher press of the pencil, before. Heard the door to the apartment VERY quietly open and close with an almost inaudible 'click'.

Setting down all of my materials on the floor, I sat very still on the window sill, ready to take offensive measures at the drop of a hat. I heard soft footsteps along the hallway, and then I saw who it was. Thankfully Mercer was back, at 02:36 P.M with a glance at the computer screen again, which had become much more dull at some point. He mustn't of noticed me at first, as his first reaction was to wander further into the apartment to where Dana was silently resting in her room.

A quiet creak of a door I had memorised to be Dana's confirmed my theory, and he came pacing back, by the sound of it he was very tired. Finally he looked up at me, sitting on the window sill. His somber (and regretful?) eyes glowed in the dark, only half of his face illuminated by the natural light coming from the moon, staring directly at me. I felt the sudden rush of inspiration strike me, the inspiration to draw an exact portrayal of his expression and face as he appeared to me right now. "What are you still doing up?" He asked me in a voice that seemed more delicate than usual, my mind immediately flashed back to the lady, but I submerged that topic for a time when he didn't look so tired. I replied after a second of thinking, my voice soft and completely calm. "I am looking after Dana, like you asked me," to which his eyes glowed even brighter, his stare intensifying. "You didn't have to, I would of-" "not been here. I am doing as you requested by keeping her safe," I replied gently, using reason instead of force with him for once.

"Sleeping when someone wishes you to look after somebody isn't a clever idea, especially when that person has done so much for you. If something happened to Dana while I was asleep, I wouldn't of been up quick enough to reach her before they either got away, or killed her." He grew tense at the word 'kill', and I knew something had happened to set him on edge, the fact that he didn't argue only increased my suspicion.

"But i'm back now, so you can go and rest. I'll keep you two safe." My brow furrowed slightly, he was really on edge right now, wasn't he? "No. I want to keep watch." He opened his mouth to reply, to say something to discourage me from my chosen path or something similar, but I beat him to it by getting off the window ledge and clamping a hand over his mouth which definitely caught him off-guard. "I won't accept any arguments, Alex. You are far more tired than I, and I can't sleep anyway. I'll keep watch for you and your sister, it's the very least I can do." A suspicious look covered his features, his sharp eyes trying to pry out any information they could out of me, but I wasn't going to give it to him this time. I did however, let him remove my hand to speak. "Why are you taking watch? You are usually the first person to go to bed."

He caught me for a moment, but I knew he wasn't fully awake right now, so I hinted at why I wanted to keep an eye out so badly. "I just have a feeling something bad is going to happen soon. Like the peace before a shit storm hits." I seemed to of hit dob on the mark, since Mercer didn't look suspicious anymore, and almost seemed to agree with me. "Fine... But you'll regret staying up later..." He murmured, walking to his room which was along side Dana's. I heard the door open, but I didn't hear the familiar 'clunk' of Mercer's door closing, having a completely different sound to Dana's door. I listened to the groan of springs, probably him lying down on his bed, and if I listened hard enough, a slight hissing coming from his room. Was he injured or something?

After waiting a few moments, the hissing stopped, and what I presumed was his breathing evened out and became as quiet as his sister's, but not as quick. He had fallen asleep within seconds of his head hitting what I guessed was his pillow. I gazed at the moon for a moment, wondering whether I should go and close his door for him, and chose that yes, I would go and close his door. I was especially quiet now that Alex was back, carefully stepping over the book/paper and pencil I had placed on the ground, and I slowly paced over to his room. I reached his door, my hand hovering over the handle when it suddenly occurred to me I had never actually seen inside his room before. An image of black and red tendrils/mass covering the wall and a hammock made of tendrils suspended just in front of a window hovered into my mind and make me grin. That would be both incredibly disturbing, and incredibly funny.

Deciding that I would briefly peek into his room, I opened it a crack wider, and looked inside. I kind of felt slightly disappointed when I saw what was inside, there was no gross hammock, or even an unusual wall colour. From what I could see, it was just blank, exactly like the rest of this apartment which had white or beige walls and a light coloured floor, there being a bed in the centre of the room and a set of drawers which looked like they had never been used. However, I was slightly surprised when I saw him lying on his bed in different clothes than when he came in, no covers nor pillows on his bed at all.

he was wearing long loose grey pants, presumably for comfort, and apparently he didn't wear a shirt when he slept (if I had no dignity, I think I would of gotten a nosebleed right then and there), but what made the outfit so strange was the fact that his face was no longer covered with his signature hoodie, and I could see his short brown hair for the very first time. His face still looked pale, unhealthily so, but his face didn't look so gaunt of hawk like anymore. It looked... Handsome and if he tried, I could very easily see him being some kind of strange model. He was very slender too, but he still looked strong somehow, his physique being the perfect balance between above average fitness and athletic. I was probably blushing right now, but seeing him like this, so calm and his features not hunched up in a glare or looking so tense, it took my breath away, even if he was older than me.

I wished I could touch his hair mostly, play with it as I liked to do if people let me, but I knew that would wake him up, and most likely end in me getting killed... Or worse... An ever so slight shiver went through him, which caught my attention. He was cold, yet he slept with no shirt and no pillows/cover, why? The crazy beautiful bastard. Thinking of what I could do to help him without waking him up, I thought of the spare cover resting in my room. There was no way I could put his head on a pillow without waking him up.

I quietly retreated from his doorway to my room temporarily, to which the door was still open to, and swiftly grabbed the cover in a way I could put it over him without causing unneeded mutilations. Walking back like the ninja I was (haha, I wish...), I hesitated at the door. 'Would he shout at me in the morning for doing this?' I questioned myself, feeling a slight bit of apprehension at the thought of entering his room, the one place he had all to himself without any prying eyes, even from his sister apparently, judging by the thin coat of dust atop the drawers. Deciding that this once, I would ignore the consequences of what I was going to do and stepped into the room, shivering when I felt the cold of the window in his room hit me. This was probably even more reason to do what I was planning! He was crazy! And annoyingly cute when he slept! ...wait what?

Ignoring my mind's little trip up, I placed the edges of the cover where they would go if someone wasn't lying on the bed, and very, VERY slowly* pulled the cover over his shivering body, which soon began to stop shivering once I placed the last of the cover just over his shoulders and under his chin which was resting on his hand as an improvised pillow. For a brief moment, I thought I HAD woken him up from his rest, as he shifted slightly and a slight glare touched his face, making his eyebrows furrow dangerously. He then settled, the neutral expression taking over once more. I was safe apparently, which meant I could back out of the room without disturbing anybody.

That was, until a fucking tendril wrapped around my wrist, and held me in place.

I didn't dare move, breathe, or even blink. It was resting on the place where my pulse would be normally, but I think it was going so quickly that it felt like one loud humming sound was filling my chest. It felt almost like a boa constrictor did, when it tried to slither along your arm, not to try and kill you and eat you for a mid-morning snack, but to get a stable grip and stay up right. It was warm, and completely non-threatening, but all the same I couldn't move in fear of actually waking up the owner of said tendril. After what felt like five full minutes, it slowly released me, and I was able to walk out of the room, dizzy with relief and adrenaline. I closed the door behind me ever-so-softly, wanting to never experience such terror like that again. I think the risk of waking him up was worse than the risk of losing my life!

I went back to my place on the window sill in the living room, and returned to what seemed like the drawing I had done years ago. The blank figures were still there, just as empty as I had left them. After my terrifying experience, I knew only one person could possibly fill these little figures I had drawn right before his arrival. I was going to draw Alex Mercer, and he was definitely not ever going to know about it. Mainly because he would tease me endlessly about it, but also because I wasn't going to draw him with his normal outfit. I think these would look better without his hood...

_Boom! Yet another stupidly long chapter done. I quite enjoyed this one, I got some good interactions with Dana in, and I finally got to write a night time scene. I would of explained what had happened with Natasha with Blackwatch and everything, but I felt like I was jumping around a little too much. Believe me, I won't randomly drop her character, I've had too much fun developing her, but I won't cut to her everytime she is mentioned. _

_Also, on a little side note, everything Dana and Alison mentioned about the 'deep webs' and proxies is true. I know a tiny bit about it from a friend who was kind enough to help me fill in Dana's vast knowledge of technology and hacking. _

_See you tomorrow folks! Same place, around about same time with another new chapter!_


	17. I get 'involentary' surgery

_Finally! This damn chapter took quite awhile to write, but to be fair I had to back track quite a bit, view the mission plot lines of the actual game, and decide who I actually wanted something to happen at the end of the chapter. I also noticed that I never really explained why Alex was hiding in the tree when Alison first met him/saw him, but that will all be summed up very soon. Bare with me, the next couple of chapters will be a bit long (perhaps too long), but shit is about to really start hitting the fan big time now! Enjoy, and once again, a million thanks to pay wonderful reviewers :) you people are awesome!_

The entire night I had been sketching, scribbling away ideas in my head upon the measly scrap of lined piece of paper I had taken from Dana's desk. To be fair, she had plenty of it, (a full freaking stack of it) and most of the paper she used usually ended up inside the trash can just underneath her desk or was written on in scruffy handwriting only she could understand. On the plus side, if we ever got discovered, I doubt anyone would know what she was researching...

It had to sharpen the pencil so many times during the night, and I think Dana was going to be slightly suspicious when she discovers all of the sharpening in the bin, but I didn't really care. After such a long break from drawing (it was for me), I was churning out the sketches in record time. I completed the sketches of Alex within an hour, which was pretty damn fast considering how well they had turned out. I was grimacing at them while I was filling in the details as well, thinking that they were going to turn out absolutely terrible. Somehow, under the light of the full moon, a miracle had happened.

It looked almost like Mercer was living on the page, his motion and signature smirk captured perfectly upon the feeble piece of paper I had lovingly spend hours dragging a pencil across. I had finished around about 06:12 A.M, the paper I had drawn on being completely full of my sketches (on both sides) of the person who had become the bane of my life, and my artistic inspiration. He could NEVER see this. I don't think I would live another 5 seconds if he did...

Tip-toeing back to my room and hiding my piece of paper under one of my pillows, I felt like I really needed to step outside for a while to enjoy the morning air. The Mercer siblings were probably going to wake soon anyway, so I suppose it would be fine if I did such a thing. After all, I had stayed up all night for their safety. Opening the front door to the apartment and slipping out, I breathed in deeply the morning air. The sun was just in the process of rising and there was not a single cloud in sight. Absolutely perfect. That was, it would of been perfect if I didn't detect some kind of taint in the air. A taint that definitely wasn't there yesterday, and it stunk of evil and treachery. How did evil and treachery have a smell? I have no idea, but if it did, this was certainly it.

I closed the door as quietly as I did during the night, and stretched thoroughly, after staying up all night and being hunched over a piece of paper with minimal light, it was nice to see things clearly and be able to move about without fear of evoking the wrath of what felt like a Demi-god. And that was just Dana.

I looked out into the city, examining the world that surrounded me, but was cut short when my mind was invaded again by those fucking images. The woman appeared in my vision, her face blurry but it was definitely her. She gestured to me in a way that made me think of a mother becoming her child. "Come to me..." Her raspy voice called, filling my head with the urge to run, to jump, to MOVE to wherever she was, the virus that my body was made of demanding that I listen to her and obey her command. I took a step away from the apartment where the siblings were sleeping, and the voice filled my head again. "Yes, come to me..."

"Fuck OFF you stupid voice! You are not making me do anything for you!" I spat out through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to take another step. "I don't know who the fuck you are, but you better release my body right now!" I demanded, ignoring the pain that grew within my cells for resisting the voice that beckoned me to wherever it came from. The pain didn't subside and I was forced to take another step. My voice became more of a feral snarl than a human voice as I gave my last warning."I am warning you! I'll find you and kill you if you continue this fucking invasion of my mind!"

My final warning seemed to of finally gotten through to the lady that I wasn't screwing around, and the urge to go somewhere was rapidly dissipating. My body stopped moving without my permission, and I was back to the way I was, completely normal, minus the thundering headache I had gained from that bitches meddling. "Fucking whore... She better stay away from me..." I muttered, hoping that I hadn't woken up the residents inside of the apartment in my attempt to regain control. I slipped back inside, and discovered Dana was back at her desk, still in what appeared to be her pyjamas and tightly gripping a mug full of coffee.

"Oh, I didn't know you were already up Alison, did you go for a run or something?" She asked me in a completely oblivious tone, meaning that I had not woken her up. I discreetly sighed in relief, and replied with as much vigour as I could without making myself see mini Mercers running around my head like in the cartoons. "Yeah, I've been up for awhile, though I was just standing outside for a bit since I needed the fresh air. Its been one of those nights where you wake up early and can't get back to dreamland," I smiled, while Dana continued to sip her foul smelling substance. "I have those days way too often," she replied with a knowing smile after another sip, typing away upon her worn keyboard. I wrinkled my nose as another waft of coffee hit me from across the room. "Dana you really shouldn't drink that stuff so early in the morning... It's unhealthy for a start and it's addictive, and not in a good way like chocolate." She just grinned in her strange little way. "I know, Alex lectures me about that all of the time. You and him have some really freaky resemblances now that I think about it, and I don't just mean the-" she waved her arm about to elaborate. I got her message loud and clear. "Very funny Dana. We don't resemble each other at all. He is considerably older than me, for me to resemble him would mean I act like an old lady ," I stuck my tongue out at her, while she did the same but not as dramatically as myself.

"Well, you must be an old lady since you share the same clothing interests as him, the same stubborn attitude although you are much more explosive than him i'll give you that one," she winked at me playfully while I just glared. "You even lecture me on my coffee and how it will give me addiction! You must either plan this together- which I doubt you do since he has been doing it for years, or you have the brain of a 30 year old." "Hopefully the latter. Mercer is nothing but a pain in the ass." I muttered more to myself than to Dana. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, granny." Dana smirked as she finished the mug full of coffee she had and I stared glaring at her. "You should be grateful I love you like a sister otherwise I would of long since started raging at you', I growled but not seriously. "Anyway, I'm beginning to get bored around the house, are there any good art stores near hear that you know of?" I questioned, eager to get back into art now that I had regained the taste for it.

"Unless by near you mean on the very outskirts of the city, then no. Art stores have gone into decline at the moment, what with the outbreak and everything. The only thing you are going to find nearby would be at best stationary shops which sell either lined notebooks for students or very small packets of blank paper. Sorry to break it to you Alison." Dana said sincerely as she turned back to her computer and focused on gaining information for our cause. I think I was in a really bad nightmare right now, I could of sworn Dana said something like 'art was in decline', and that proper sketchbooks weren't sold anymore here. "You are joking, right?" I asked hopefully, pleading with the gods in my head to not force such a cruel fate upon me. "Nope. The last one closed down awhile back". "...What the fuck! That's bullshit!" I yelled. "Hey! Keep your voice down, Alex is in bed idiot!" "oops, sorry..." I listened carefully to see if I had woken him up, but his breathing was still level and no sounds of movement reached my ears. He was thankfully still asleep, thank god for him being a deep sleeper...

"...Anyway, I'm sure you could just draw on blank or lined paper for now, when you get enough sketches you can just bind them together with string or something. That way you won't waste paper if you go wrong." Dana replied and I grimaced. I very much preferred having a sketchbook but I would have to be grateful that I was able to draw at all, my situation could of been much worse. "May I borrow some blank paper then? My head is going to explode if I fend off all of the creativity inside any longer," I laughed and Dana smiled too, while handing me a pencil, a hardback book I had been using earlier and a piece of paper I had requested. "Go nuts, but not literally," She smirked as I thanked her for the paper and retreated to the couch, pausing for a moment as I had my newly sharpened pencil poised over the paper. I wanted to draw Mercer again but this time with his hood, and the way his eyes glowed when the moonlight only lit up half of his face, but he would probably get up soon. Instead, I chose to draw Dana, smirking at an object in the room somewhere.

It kept me quiet for a considerably long time, as when half an hour had passed, I was already applying the final outlines, and adding in any tiny detail I may of missed before moving onto the shading of her hair and eyes. "So what ya drawing?" Dana asked curiously, a half smile covering her face as she turned to look at me from her desk. I looked up from under my hood (having covering my face with the hoodie I wore before I started drawing) and smiled

at her, stating that "you can't know yet, it isn't finished." I think my answer only amplified Dana's curiosity, as she got up from her chair and attempted to see my drawing of her. I moved it from her view by holding it against my chest. "No cheating Dana, I never let anyone see my drawings before they are done," I smirked as her face turned into a frown. "Why not?"

"Because when my drawings are unfinished, they look terrible."

Pouting, but still not giving up, she came over to the couch and tried to take it out of my hands by tickling my sides. It tickled certainly, but I stood up and held the paper high above her head. 'Thank god for my tall genetics', I thought as I watched her try and reach the paper I suspended far above her head, turned away from her view so she couldn't see the drawing. "Now that's just mean! Stop acting like Alex with your creepy hood and smirking and lemme see!"

I laughed as she became the younger one here, and I felt like the older sister which was constantly being pestered. She tried jumping for it, but she still couldn't get it, which I found so very hilarious. I was taller than a 20 or so year old, give or take a few years. I was having quite a lot of fun, so much so that I didn't hear a creeper sneak up on me until the said piece of paper was taken from my hand, by the REAL older sibling in the house. I spun around, determined to get it back, and god god did really wish I hadn't turned around.

Mercer was examining the drawing with that odd gaze of his, however he was wearing the same thing he was wearing on his bed last night (god that makes me sound so freaking perverted), which was next to nothing. I turned back around, covering my eyes from the sight that had so horribly assaulted me (while my mind did a little dance, more than happy to make the situation worse by providing dirty thoughts) and Dana bounded over to him to see the drawing which he too hid from her, a slight smirk covering his face. I heard him chuckle slightly, evoking a "let me see!" From Dana. "Not bad," he stated, earning a glare from me, "you can certainly tell your an artist at least," he handed me back the paper, and then walked into the bathroom, messing up my hair under my hood as he passed. I glared so hard at the door, I'm surprised I didn't shoot lasers from my eyes to be honest. After an internal battle with myself, I decided that I may as well (though with much reluctance) let Dana see the portrait I had done of her.

It wasn't finished, but it was presentable enough. A childish grin covered her face, her dark hair covering one eye which was turned up in a way that told me she was really happy with the drawing I had done. "It's amazing, how did you do it so quickly?" She questioned me, her gaze still riveted upon the picture. "I uh... Have had a lot of practice drawing people?" I rubbed the back of my head in an embarrassed way (my hood was still in the way, so I ended up pulling it down), not really sure how to answer. "Art was the only thing I had an immense interest in, besides writing and music for which neither I had that much of a talent for. Writing I was alright at, but art was the one I was achieving A*'s in." Dana looked at me strangely, "A*'s?" She asked, clearly not following. "Oh, right, americans have a different term for A*'s, it's basically just an A+, the highest grade you can achieve." She nodded, now understanding.

We walked back to the couch, and slumped down, Dana still holding my incomplete drawing. "Uh... I know it's a bit odd but, can I keep this picture? I really like it..." I looked at her, a faint smile upon my face. "Sure, though can I finish it first? I still have yet to do the shading," she nodded and reluctantly gave it me back. "...You know, you still would be a really good hacker-"

"Dana-"

"I know, I know, but you are so dedicated. You'd probably be able to out class me in no time!"

I smirked at her, obviously not believing a word she said. "I'd probably end up getting us found out or something, I wouldn't recommend me becoming a hacker. Trust me." I gave her the look that said 'don't ask why, I just know', and thankfully Dana left it alone without saying anything else on the matter. A few moments after Dana's attempt to try and convert me into a super-hacker, Alex had walked out from the bathroom, this time fully clothed and looking considerably more evil than previously.

"Dana, we need to have a talk for a moment. About Greene, and other things..." His eyes flickered to me for a brief moment, unsure whether I should hear what he was going to tell his sister and I knew immediately they needed a moment alone. I took the hint with no hurt feelings and exited the apartment, knowing that although I had given them no reason to distrust me, they didn't exactly have a reason to trust me either. I guess to them, right now I was a bit unpredictable, an anomaly, for multiple reasons. I heard a quiet "thanks," from Dana, and a small smile as I passed by that didn't seem like she meant the thanks she gave to me. Was she worried about something?

Passing it off, I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, knowing that I might be here for awhile. It seemed like they had a lot of serious stuff to talk about, mostly about this 'Greene' person, and I don't think they meant the green giant advert for peas... Deciding that the best way to spend my time would be to practice jumping and wall running while I waited, I took off from the roof to the one just across the street, just like before. It was easier now I knew how to do it properly, and my fear of heights no longer was as bad as before, in fact if barely fazed me as I leapt back and to, laughing with each impact I made which caused my legs tingle in a funny way. I must be going insane- willingly jumping off buildings, I thought at the back of mind, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to care about that little voice right now.

Sticking close by to the apartment, but not extremely close, I decided it would be a pretty fun idea to do some wall running up the side of a particularly deserted street. Only one or two people were about, and the military or Blackwatch were nowhere to be seen, so it seemed like a good location. I landed in a dark alleyway, and put my hood up, because to be honest, I didn't really want to be found out after going to such lengths to conceal the fact that I was alive. I ran at the wall just like Mercer did, and after a second I ran almost completely all the way up it, before deciding to experiment and do something probably incredibly stupid. I jumped just before I reached the top, and using my momentum, I flipped backwards, and landed, leaving only a slight crater upon the ground. I grinned, more so before, and decided I HAD to do it again. It felt like so much fun!

I must of spent awhile jumping about, getting a feel for the adrenaline rush every time I fell, and adjusting the angle of each flip so I could enter battle- or leave it, much more efficiently. I felt free for awhile, amusing myself by trying to do wall jumps like in the sonic games, although sadly that was beyond a prototype's abilities to do. Though soon enough, I had to journey back, knowing that I may of taken I little longer than necessary... But heck! I wasn't house bound or anything! ...was I?

I arrived back, and Mercer was (to my surprise) waiting for me, looking pensive and all around irritated. "Where have you been?" He deadpanned, his eyes from under his good flashing dangerously- his way of saying that if I didn't give a good excuse I was going to have one less limb. Maybe two. "I was practicing my jumping and wall running, 'figured you needed time with Dana, why?" He glared, but not harshly. "I've been waiting for you to come back for awhile now, I was just about to come and get you. I need you to look after Dana again for me, please." "Again?" He simply nodded and expected me to accept, as only he would. Asshole.

"What aren't you explaining Mercer. You didn't argue with me last night when I said I would keep watch, and didn't ask what I meant when I had a bad feeling something was going to happen. You are hiding something big from me, and you won't tell me. What is it?" I glared at him, this argument feeling suspiciously like the one we first had when he brought me here for the first time. He sighed and was about to say something, his mouth opening to form syllables, when out of the distance, some kind of pink fleshy dog came rapidly speeding towards us. What did he call those things...? Hunters? Yeah, that was it, but it didn't look quite like the hunter I encountered in the lab...

"Alex... Move!" I shoved him out of the way as hard as I could, as with one powerful bound, the hunter had launched itself from 3 buildings away to none, clearly aiming deliberately for this apartment. It slammed right into myself, then the apartment wall of which Dana was just next to. Dana was screaming, terrified, and Alex had recovered from the push I had given him, and was just about to slaughter the dog when it leapt at Dana. "DANA! NOOO!" Without even thinking, I threw myself in it's way- effectively sacrificing myself- my life, for Dana's safety. It stopped short of Dana, knocking me to the floor in my foolhardy attempt to stop it. It injured me badly, ripping a painted grunt from my throat , there now being a nasty gash in my right side where it's claws or teeth- I didn't care which, had caught me. It fucking HURT! So much so my vision wasn't clear at all, and where the fuck was Alex in this mess?

It didn't go for Dana again, instead, it took ME in its fucking claws, and jumped away from the scene of the crime. "ALISON!" I think I heard both Alex and Dana shout, though it was hard to tell. I was panicking, struggling, trying to somehow get free from this stupid hunter's grasp, but it growled at me, showing rows and rows of pointy yellow teeth. Uhm... I guess it didn't want me squirming around... Or moving at all.

I looked at my side as best I could, (not a very clear view considering my head was trapped between two claws) which was burning with absolute agony right now. It wasn't going away, like Alex had said it would. It was still there, and if it was fading, it was fading at an extremely slow rate. Then I remembered exactly what he had said. 'Depending on how many people we have consumed recently, it affects how fast we regenerate, or if we can regenerate at all.' I hadn't consumed any people recently, or any hunters either, the latest ones being the people back at the base I had been 'born' from. 'Oh', I thought to myself distantly over the pain and shouting coming from behind the hunter, 'that would be why... I'm not... regenerating...'

Somewhere along the way, with all of the bounding and the constant movement, I slipped away into the dark, where a voice beckoned me once more, and this time, I had no power to resist.

_Ok so, this chapter, more specifically the ending, was so close to meeting the chop, but it managed to turn out just fine. I'm pretty sure that it turned out OK, but it could of been much better in places, as somebody will probably tell me, but oh well. Onwards and upwards I guess? And I am going to mess with the plot line a little bit, some missions will occur before others, and some will happen later. It can't be helped with the plan I have, and it is much too late to change it. Also, it never really gave a reason as to why Dana was kidnapped, I checked on the protowiki and everything (Which is the best place for checking up on prototype things), and it said that a reason why Dana was stolen was never given, just guesses that maybe Greene wanted to use Alex's affection for Dana against him, as he was the only one capable to end the infection. I have of course, manipulated it to suit my needs ;) hope you enjoyed this so far! _


	18. Alex gets bitch slapped

_EDIT: Ok first off, why did none of you silly people tell me I was missing a chapter? I just reviewed my progress so far and chapter 17 took a huge jump from tucking mercer in bed to chasing a god damn hunter with Alison in it's talons xD they're was a chapter I between that, so I have added that one now. This is why you people need to inform my of my mistakes, I easily make mistakes like that xD the new chapter is titled, 'I get 'involuntary' surgery'. (end of edit)_

_This latest chapter was much easier than the previous one to get right, although whenever I wrote as Alex now, I always get nervous and think 'is this good enough? Would he act like this?' However, I think this is the first chapter where I have been required to use two points of view within one chapter. I may of had to do it earlier, but I have the memory of a goldfish, so it's hard to tell. opinions are very welcome here! I kind of need them to have the courage and encouragement to continue writing chapters xD_

_enjoy! _

"Dana!" someone called from the doorway. My head immediately snapped up from the medical posters I had been previously inspecting and there stood Alex, clearly distressed and agitated. "Alex! Are you alright? Did you manage to get her back?" My voice held a clear note of worry, seeing him like this was almost as bad as the time when Karen Parker had fucked him over with that 'cure', he was almost falling over in pain constantly, gripping his sides as the cancer ate away at his body. I wasn't like him, but I could clearly tell he was in pain, no matter if he was the mighty 'Zeus'. 'Thank god Ragland is a damn good doctor' I thought, silently vowing that once we got out of here, I'd buy him a drink for saving my brother. "They took her... I chased it down but it got away, escaping my clutches." He glared at the floor, pacing back and to frantically. Small tendrils constantly kept moving around him, making me step away involuntarily- he glanced at me briefly, realising his actions and tried to calm himself down. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother... But I still find it hard to believe he is this... Thing, now.

"Did you make it here ok? Please tell me Blackwatch did not get to you while I was gone, because if one of those-" "Alex," I looked up at him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine. I made it here just fine, Blackwatch arrived at the old apartment long after I had left. Calm down for gods sake, we need to THINK this through before we can act." The army had probably spent billions trying to subdue my brother, I would know, I trawl through all of their hidden shit on their databases, but I don't think anyone could ever get him to listen as well as I ever could- it made me glad that he cared so much about me. Though it god damn scared me whenever he got overprotective, it took so much convincing to let me buy groceries and snacks by myself. He also didn't understand sarcasm either, which was an absolute pain in the backside whenever I used it. "...Alright... your right. I'm just glad that you weren't hurt-" he broke off, and turned around. "Where's Ragland?"

He asked in a tone that showed he really was trying to stay calm, for me, if anyone.

"He stepped out for a moment to tend to a patient, he said he'd be back in 10 minutes or so. Do you want me to-" "No. That's alright, I'll wait here. I can be patient." He half-smiled at me, trying to reassure me he was fine. He certainly seemed impatient, and like, more so than usual. Was it because he was that distressed on losing Alison? We had only known her for a few days, him a few more than me- I liked her, like a sister almost, but something was amiss here, something I obviously was overlooking... He took to pacing the room again, wringing his hands nervously. He also looked infinitely more jumpy and tense, like he was expecting something to jump out at him, and his eyes looked like he was trying to calculate something, or figure something out. His shoulders were hunched over, and his hood seemed further over his face than normal, a constant scowl etched into my brother's unnaturally pale features. It didn't take a genius to know he wasn't happy at all.

"Alex, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting on a table pushed into a wall nearby me. He almost jumped, clearly not in reality right now. I repeated the question for his benefit, with a little more force this time. "I'm just... Angry. I feel like I failed- and I don't like failing. Not when it comes to somebody's life, that could of very easily been you..." I tilted my head, beginning to figure out just what has been bothering him so much. "So you are pacing around like a tiger that has been prodded with a stick because you've failed? I don't believe you. What aren't you telling me Alex?" I tried not to sound so demanding, but he had hidden things from me before. Things he thought I was better off knowing but I had found out anyway, like what he truly was. I didn't enjoy that conversation, but it was bound to happen, and it cleared the air between us an awful lot. It also helped explain some of his... Oddities. Like why he couldn't eat a normal meal, and why he couldn't touch soap or hand gel...

"I don't know what else to say Dana, I've had someone snatched away from me by some fucked up hunter- someone who gambled away their life in return for yours. And you didn't hear her terrified cries, you didn't see her broken body, twisted inside it's claws. And the blood, so much blood..." He ran his hands down his face in agitation, his eyes shimmering under the darkness of his hood. He acted as though they were close, almost as though they were... Oh. OH.

"...You love her don't you?" I stated, gently, my voice as soft as a feather's touch. His head swivelled around to face me, eyes caught in a half glare, half stunned look. "You love her, it makes sense if you did. I've never seen you this distressed, and this would explain everything..." I looked at him with eyes wide, my mind finally seeing what I had been ever so blindly overlooking. He looked genuinely confused, as if being dragged between one thought and another. "I don't know... I feel the overwhelming need to protect both of you, but with her it's like I can't think straight- I feel like I'm... Normal, around her. It's so confusing I- fuck..." He swore and started pacing again, unable to keep still or finish his sentence. I was right about one thing at least, Alex was developing feelings for Alison. However how to deal with a lovesick brother? Even I couldn't answer that one.

"I don't really know what to say, so I'm not going to pretend... Although I'm glad you care for her so much, right now isn't the best time to be having a romantic relationship with anyone. Our work has to come first. The world, has to come first. I want to rescue Alison as much as you do, but maybe you should think about the infection first." I said, making him finally stop moving and fidgeting, and finally stand still for a moment. At this exact moment, Ragland chose to walk in. You know when I said I vowed to buy this man a drink? Change that to 2.

I left them alone, a questioning glance being thrown in my direction from the doctor. I signalled that I would explain to him later, which he accepted with a nod. My brother had things to think over with the dear doctor.

-–-

"I need to find the hunter that took Alison," I stated with little care to Ragland's reaction, I didn't have time to waste on etiquette and manners. He paused, a little too long for my liking, and asked me to describe the hunter that had taken her. 'Was this really needed?' The impatient and more violent side of me questioned, while the other tried to reason that it was 'to find Alison, of course it was needed'. Dana's words from before didn't really help with the problem either. Of course I wanted to end this hell, to cut the infection off at the source, but Alison needed our help more than anything- didn't she see that?

I (as best I could) patiently explained what the mutated hunter looked like, and Ragland did not seem happy at the description I gave him. "The hunter you are looking for seems to be a variant of the species." He paused again, the virus in me itching to tell him to hurry up. He continued with a look to the diagram of a normal hunter. "From what you described, It seems to fill a leader roll, the other hunters take cues from it. If you can find and consume a leader hunter, it may give you indications as to where the focus of the virus is, and where the hunter is that took Alison." I glared coldly from underneath the darkness of my hood, clearly not impressed with such scarce information upon the subject. I turned around, already heading for the door, glad to be moving once again. "My only concern right now, is Alison."

A few moments later, and already I was streaking through the sky with reckless abandon, purposefully drawing all of the attention to myself. The fights were welcome, I would level the entire fucking city to the ground if I had to, and I needed to replenish my store of biomass anyway. I had exhausted it in my desperate dash to save Alison. Alison... The word sparked something unknown in me, but whatever it sparked edged me on, demanding that I do more in my search. Shifting my arms into razor sharp claws, at least a foot and a half long, a sadistic smirk covered my face. If those leader hunters were going to cower in the shadows like the pathetic worms they were, then I was going to force them out of their holes, the cowards!

I easily located the nearest hive, the red ominous mist that constantly surrounded it being very obvious in a concrete land made of grey and black. I plummeted through to the ground off the top of a particularly high building, aiming for maximum impact as I smashed into the crowd of infected that haunted the streets below like the pests they were. My number one rule, was if stealth was ABSOLUTELY the only option, why not create a lasting first impression? The concrete crumpled around me like paper would by a human hand, and the lesser infected I had happened to made my 'impression' upon, being catapulted further into the crowd, the groans and shrieks of the almost-dead as they were knocked back or worse only fuelling my rage for blood. I got to work quickly, the infected barely having a chance to turn their heads before my blades had shredded their flesh into jagged ribbons, my tendrils pulling in the recently deceased corpse to greedily file away their DNA, and to use their mass to repair any anomalies discovered- whether it be injuries on my 'skin' or mutations gone wrong.

I had devoured an entire crowd within moments, but my hunger for more raged on, urging me to find another target- another source of biomass and DNA. The now exploding blisters on the side of the hive provided me with just that. Lesser hunters were now bellowing at me, a gleam in their eye that told me they wanted my blood as much as I craved theirs. "Come on then!" I roared at them, daring them to try and topple the king of the food chain. Oh they dared alright, they wasted no time in trying to dismember me, trying to maul my corpse and feast upon it's entrails, but the time when these rungs actually had a chance against me was long gone. I switched to my blade, it's dull gleam promising the hunters that so foolishly charged at me their death, and it delivered.

I jumped as they swiped at me with their claws, and landed upon the first one's back, angling my blade to cut through the tissue that surrounded it's neck (which made such an appetising noise when cut), the hunter unable to do much else than struggle and bellow in offence as it slowly lost it's head. Eventually I forced my blade through it's tendons and spinal column, a satisfying 'crunch' heard when it's head came off it's fleshy shoulders. Wasting no time, my tendrils sensed the prize I had just made work of, and once again devoured it with gluttony and greed, my body becoming more powerful with every life I claimed. Metallic blood now soaking the tarmac beneath my feet and the surface my favoured weapon, I sought after the rest of the hunters, and they willingly ran straight to their death.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that I was beginning to lose my sanity, and finding that sadistic pleasure in the killing of other beings was wrong- wrong on the highest levels of all society. But did I care? I was filling my role as being on top of the food chain, and god did it feel so GOOD when I cleaved through muscle, and every part of them being consumed into my DNA. 'But what would Alison think if she saw this?' Came that annoying voice that humans liked to call a conscience. I hesitated in my act of onslaught, a twinge of guilt overtaking my senses. What WOULD she think if she saw me like this? Would she call me a monster, and run like the others?

Uncertainty clouded my mind, and the hunters that I paused mid-battle with took advantage of my hesitation. I was batted to the side, powerful claws leaving a gash in the same place Alison had received hers when she- no. I would NOT relive that memory. Not now, I needed to concentrate, I was loosing sight of my goal- I needed to find a leader hunter... Alison's life was hanging in the balance.

As if thinking of the demon had summoned it, an almighty roar tore through the streets of Manhattan, shattering windows and making the lesser hunters look towards the source of the noise. My constant slaughtering of it's pathetic underlings had worked. I had drawn the leader hunter from it's hidey-hole. The wound I had sustained during my moment of brief hesitation had already healed, and knowing I would need it, I converted my other arm into a second blade, resembling the first. "And now, the fun begins..." I whispered, the virus trembling- eager to consume the newest challenger.

tada! New chapter done! What do you think? I think it turned out pretty damn good, but once again, it isn't my opinion that matters. It's yours. So, reviews are welcome with open arms!


	19. Insanity is a sadistic pleasure

_EDIT: Ok first off, why did none of you silly people tell me I was missing a chapter? I just reviewed my progress so far and chapter 17 took a huge jump from tucking mercer in bed to chasing a god damn hunter with Alison in it's talons xD they're was a chapter I between that, so I have added that one now. This is why you people need to inform my of my mistakes, I easily make mistakes like that xD the new chapter is titled, 'I get 'involuntary' surgery'. (end of edit)_

_This latest chapter was much easier than the previous one to get right, although whenever I wrote as Alex now, I always get nervous and think 'is this good enough? Would he act like this?' However, I think this is the first chapter where I have been required to use two points of view within one chapter. I may of had to do it earlier, but I have the memory of a goldfish, so it's hard to tell. opinions are very welcome here! I kind of need them to have the courage and encouragement to continue writing chapters xD_

_enjoy! _

"Dana!" someone called from the doorway. My head immediately snapped up from the medical posters I had been previously inspecting and there stood Alex, clearly distressed and agitated. "Alex! Are you alright? Did you manage to get her back?" My voice held a clear note of worry, seeing him like this was almost as bad as the time when Karen Parker had fucked him over with that 'cure', he was almost falling over in pain constantly, gripping his sides as the cancer ate away at his body. I wasn't like him, but I could clearly tell he was in pain, no matter if he was the mighty 'Zeus'. 'Thank god Ragland is a damn good doctor' I thought, silently vowing that once we got out of here, I'd buy him a drink for saving my brother. "They took her... I chased it down but it got away, escaping my clutches." He glared at the floor, pacing back and to frantically. Small tendrils constantly kept moving around him, making me step away involuntarily- he glanced at me briefly, realising his actions and tried to calm himself down. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother... But I still find it hard to believe he is this... Thing, now.

"Did you make it here ok? Please tell me Blackwatch did not get to you while I was gone, because if one of those-" "Alex," I looked up at him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine. I made it here just fine, Blackwatch arrived at the old apartment long after I had left. Calm down for gods sake, we need to THINK this through before we can act." The army had probably spent billions trying to subdue my brother, I would know, I trawl through all of their hidden shit on their databases, but I don't think anyone could ever get him to listen as well as I ever could- it made me glad that he cared so much about me. Though it god damn scared me whenever he got overprotective, it took so much convincing to let me buy groceries and snacks by myself. He also didn't understand sarcasm either, which was an absolute pain in the backside whenever I used it. "...Alright... your right. I'm just glad that you weren't hurt-" he broke off, and turned around. "Where's Ragland?"

He asked in a tone that showed he really was trying to stay calm, for me, if anyone.

"He stepped out for a moment to tend to a patient, he said he'd be back in 10 minutes or so. Do you want me to-" "No. That's alright, I'll wait here. I can be patient." He half-smiled at me, trying to reassure me he was fine. He certainly seemed impatient, and like, more so than usual. Was it because he was that distressed on losing Alison? We had only known her for a few days, him a few more than me- I liked her, like a sister almost, but something was amiss here, something I obviously was overlooking... He took to pacing the room again, wringing his hands nervously. He also looked infinitely more jumpy and tense, like he was expecting something to jump out at him, and his eyes looked like he was trying to calculate something, or figure something out. His shoulders were hunched over, and his hood seemed further over his face than normal, a constant scowl etched into my brother's unnaturally pale features. It didn't take a genius to know he wasn't happy at all.

"Alex, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting on a table pushed into a wall nearby me. He almost jumped, clearly not in reality right now. I repeated the question for his benefit, with a little more force this time. "I'm just... Angry. I feel like I failed- and I don't like failing. Not when it comes to somebody's life, that could of very easily been you..." I tilted my head, beginning to figure out just what has been bothering him so much. "So you are pacing around like a tiger that has been prodded with a stick because you've failed? I don't believe you. What aren't you telling me Alex?" I tried not to sound so demanding, but he had hidden things from me before. Things he thought I was better off knowing but I had found out anyway, like what he truly was. I didn't enjoy that conversation, but it was bound to happen, and it cleared the air between us an awful lot. It also helped explain some of his... Oddities. Like why he couldn't eat a normal meal, and why he couldn't touch soap or hand gel...

"I don't know what else to say Dana, I've had someone snatched away from me by some fucked up hunter- someone who gambled away their life in return for yours. And you didn't hear her terrified cries, you didn't see her broken body, twisted inside it's claws. And the blood, so much blood..." He ran his hands down his face in agitation, his eyes shimmering under the darkness of his hood. He acted as though they were close, almost as though they were... Oh. OH.

"...You love her don't you?" I stated, gently, my voice as soft as a feather's touch. His head swivelled around to face me, eyes caught in a half glare, half stunned look. "You love her, it makes sense if you did. I've never seen you this distressed, and this would explain everything..." I looked at him with eyes wide, my mind finally seeing what I had been ever so blindly overlooking. He looked genuinely confused, as if being dragged between one thought and another. "I don't know... I feel the overwhelming need to protect both of you, but with her it's like I can't think straight- I feel like I'm... Normal, around her. It's so confusing I- fuck..." He swore and started pacing again, unable to keep still or finish his sentence. I was right about one thing at least, Alex was developing feelings for Alison. However how to deal with a lovesick brother? Even I couldn't answer that one.

"I don't really know what to say, so I'm not going to pretend... Although I'm glad you care for her so much, right now isn't the best time to be having a romantic relationship with anyone. Our work has to come first. The world, has to come first. I want to rescue Alison as much as you do, but maybe you should think about the infection first." I said, making him finally stop moving and fidgeting, and finally stand still for a moment. At this exact moment, Ragland chose to walk in. You know when I said I vowed to buy this man a drink? Change that to 2.

I left them alone, a questioning glance being thrown in my direction from the doctor. I signalled that I would explain to him later, which he accepted with a nod. My brother had things to think over with the dear doctor.

_(P.O.V change)_

"I need to find the hunter that took Alison," I stated with little care to Ragland's reaction, I didn't have time to waste on etiquette and manners. He paused, a little too long for my liking, and asked me to describe the hunter that had taken her. 'Was this really needed?' The impatient and more violent side of me questioned, while the other tried to reason that it was 'to find Alison, of course it was needed'. Dana's words from before didn't really help with the problem either. Of course I wanted to end this hell, to cut the infection off at the source, but Alison needed our help more than anything- didn't she see that?

I (as best I could) patiently explained what the mutated hunter looked like, and Ragland did not seem happy at the description I gave him. "The hunter you are looking for seems to be a variant of the species." He paused again, the virus in me itching to tell him to hurry up. He continued with a look to the diagram of a normal hunter. "From what you described, It seems to fill a leader roll, the other hunters take cues from it. If you can find and consume a leader hunter, it may give you indications as to where the focus of the virus is, and where the hunter is that took Alison." I glared coldly from underneath the darkness of my hood, clearly not impressed with such scarce information upon the subject. I turned around, already heading for the door, glad to be moving once again. "My only concern right now, is Alison."

A few moments later, and already I was streaking through the sky with reckless abandon, purposefully drawing all of the attention to myself. The fights were welcome, I would level the entire fucking city to the ground if I had to, and I needed to replenish my store of biomass anyway. I had exhausted it in my desperate dash to save Alison. Alison... The word sparked something unknown in me, but whatever it sparked edged me on, demanding that I do more in my search. Shifting my arms into razor sharp claws, at least a foot and a half long, a sadistic smirk covered my face. If those leader hunters were going to cower in the shadows like the pathetic worms they were, then I was going to force them out of their holes, the cowards!

I easily located the nearest hive, the red ominous mist that constantly surrounded it being very obvious in a concrete land made of grey and black. I plummeted through to the ground off the top of a particularly high building, aiming for maximum impact as I smashed into the crowd of infected that haunted the streets below like the pests they were. My number one rule, was if stealth was ABSOLUTELY the only option, why not create a lasting first impression? The concrete crumpled around me like paper would by a human hand, and the lesser infected I had happened to made my 'impression' upon, being catapulted further into the crowd, the groans and shrieks of the almost-dead as they were knocked back or worse only fuelling my rage for blood. I got to work quickly, the infected barely having a chance to turn their heads before my blades had shredded their flesh into jagged ribbons, my tendrils pulling in the recently deceased corpse to greedily file away their DNA, and to use their mass to repair any anomalies discovered- whether it be injuries on my 'skin' or mutations gone wrong.

I had devoured an entire crowd within moments, but my hunger for more raged on, urging me to find another target- another source of biomass and DNA. The now exploding blisters on the side of the hive provided me with just that. Lesser hunters were now bellowing at me, a gleam in their eye that told me they wanted my blood as much as I craved theirs. "Come on then!" I roared at them, daring them to try and topple the king of the food chain. Oh they dared alright, they wasted no time in trying to dismember me, trying to maul my corpse and feast upon it's entrails, but the time when these rungs actually had a chance against me was long gone. I switched to my blade, it's dull gleam promising the hunters that so foolishly charged at me their death, and it delivered.

I jumped as they swiped at me with their claws, and landed upon the first one's back, angling my blade to cut through the tissue that surrounded it's neck (which made such an appetising noise when cut), the hunter unable to do much else than struggle and bellow in offence as it slowly lost it's head. Eventually I forced my blade through it's tendons and spinal column, a satisfying 'crunch' heard when it's head came off it's fleshy shoulders. Wasting no time, my tendrils sensed the prize I had just made work of, and once again devoured it with gluttony and greed, my body becoming more powerful with every life I claimed. Metallic blood now soaking the tarmac beneath my feet and the surface my favoured weapon, I sought after the rest of the hunters, and they willingly ran straight to their death.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that I was beginning to lose my sanity, and finding that sadistic pleasure in the killing of other beings was wrong- wrong on the highest levels of all society. But did I care? I was filling my role as being on top of the food chain, and god did it feel so GOOD when I cleaved through muscle, and every part of them being consumed into my DNA. 'But what would Alison think if she saw this?' Came that annoying voice that humans liked to call a conscience. I hesitated in my act of onslaught, a twinge of guilt overtaking my senses. What WOULD she think if she saw me like this? Would she call me a monster, and run like the others?

Uncertainty clouded my mind, and the hunters that I paused mid-battle with took advantage of my hesitation. I was batted to the side, powerful claws leaving a gash in the same place Alison had received hers when she- no. I would NOT relive that memory. Not now, I needed to concentrate, I was loosing sight of my goal- I needed to find a leader hunter... Alison's life was hanging in the balance.

As if thinking of the demon had summoned it, an almighty roar tore through the streets of Manhattan, shattering windows and making the lesser hunters look towards the source of the noise. My constant slaughtering of it's pathetic underlings had worked. I had drawn the leader hunter from it's hidey-hole. The wound I had sustained during my moment of brief hesitation had already healed, and knowing I would need it, I converted my other arm into a second blade, resembling the first. "And now, the fun begins..." I whispered, the virus trembling- eager to consume the newest challenger.

tada! New chapter done! What do you think? I think it turned out pretty damn good, but once again, it isn't my opinion that matters. It's yours. So, reviews are welcome with open arms!


	20. Once the hunted, now the hunter

_Ok so finally, I have managed to power through my confusion on how to write this chapter, and have finally produced you for everyone to read :) it took a very long time, as my fricking boyfriend was distracting me by calling me and my brother was calling me constantly too. What pains! xD I love them really._

_also, I received a review on this story by an anonymous person, which didn't make very much sense. I just wanted to clarify a few things to them if they still read this fan fiction. Read on, if you are just here to read the fiction._

_ It talked about Alex content being in character because he was a villain not a hero or at least I think it said that, it wasn't clear like I said. Alex is the hero in the first Prototype in a sense of speaking actually, since he protected Dana didn't he? He also ended the infection. Sure, he started it in the first place, but he cleaned up the mess he started. Also, I am not following the Prototype 1 - 2 plotlines, not completely at least and especially not the second game's plotline since I hated it so bad and Alex deserved better._

_They also mentioned I wasn't attempting to make this story's romance realistic enough, and that they hated 'hos who stick romance where it doesn't belong'. For a start, I rewrote an entire chapter based on reviewers opinion, so that is a definite lie. I am trying my very best to make this good and readable, hence why I ask for opinions so often. I NEED them to improve. And 'hos'? Seriously? You don't even know me, don't insult someone you have never met. _

_And finally, the fact that they compared anime which is highly melodramatic to a serious game such as prototype really irritated me. I love anime, but anime is seriously nothing like prototype. Don't make such daft comparisons. The fact that the reviewer didn't even have the nerve to put who it was from just irritated me further. Guys and girls, please don't do what this person did and disrespect everything I have done so blatantly. I can take criticism, but not then you do it in such a horrible way. I never get angry with bad reviews, but at least give me ways to improve and state which parts you had a problem with reading. It really ruins my day when I find things like this in my email box... Anyway, I was expecting a flame or something stupid at some point, so I'm glad it happened now rather than later._

_mini rant over, sorry I had to write this people. Enjoy!_

There was a brief moment of calm between the two predators, both of them sizing the other up- possibly making tactics as to how to bring the other down. It was a fearsome sight, all of the other infected watching in anticipation, as the two most dominant of each species circled each other in a deadly dance. Finally, they pounced, both baring some form of sharpened weapon whether it be a blade or claws. Being the smarter and faster of the two, Alex dodged, rolling to the side before making an attempt to slash at the leader hunter's neck, but it merely shrugged off the damage, and assumed the attack again. To say Alex's pride was wounded, was putting it lightly.

"This one is certainly stronger... But all the same, it's going to die just like all of the others," he seethed through gritted teeth, his eyes watching, prying for a weakness just as he did with every new enemy he came into contact with. He tried again as the lumbering beast charged, the ground giving way to every powerful footstep it took, this time deciding that he should try attacking it from behind. He baited it into charging, mocking it by smirking and seemingly letting up his defence, which worked with surprising ease- even hunters understood when an enemy was laughing in their face.

It charged right into the wall behind him, becoming dazed for a few precious moments- moments which Alex did not plan to waste. He jumped upon it's back, the often vulnerable part upon a hunter, and with a feral cry began carving away at the hardened flesh of the leader hunter, both blades gouging out large clumps of flesh. By now, it had already recovered, and Alex swiftly jumped away before it could slam him into a wall- it's wounds doing nothing more but irritate it a little bit more. After a brief moment of recovery, It let out a bellowing call, signalling to all of the other infected that in effect, he was 'free game'.

With an aggressive growl and a "fuck me..." Muttered under his breath, he had no choice but to take a defensive strategy, the lesser hunters charging at him, while the leader prowled at the back, waiting for it's chance to strike. He considered his options while he lead the chase away from the hive (which the hunters were more than happy to follow), his mind whirling with possible weapons and strategies. "I haven't got much of a choice here. I'm going to have to pick them off one at a time, then use THAT..."

Deciding upon a strategy that was sketchy, at best, he began to separate each hunterIt a divide and conquer fashion except far more brutal- moving far faster than any of them could hope to keep up with thanks to his previous indulgence in consuming the crowd of infected and hunters which had payed off, in the end. He ran circles around the hunters after enraging them, weakening each one with long range attacks (using the whipfist, or his tendrils of course), until they were stumbling over each other due to their injuries, unable to keep moving. During the time it took them to recover, he consumed the weaker ones, accumulating the resulting biomass into the core of his body- a bit like throwing canisters onto a bonfire, you never knew when they were going to explode until it was too late.

After much evading of the leader hunter, he was finally ready to pull his ace in the hole, his trump card. "Let's hope this works..." Alex muttered, watching the leader approach rapidly as he consumed the final hunter in it's little pack. Something clicked deep inside of him, like the trigger to a gun, setting off thousands of chain reactions which caused the biomass inside of him to shift, churning faster and faster before he fell to his knees from the agony. Hundreds of densely packed spears tipped with sharp blades of biomass ripped from his torso, covering vast distances that even he was surprised about, and he had done this dozens of times before.

All of the spears pierced everything within the immediate vicinity, meaning walls, concrete, any lagging infected and of course the leader hunter, (which had taken the full brunt of the 'devastator', as Alex secretly liked to call it) were torn to bits, wounds upon the leader finally becoming enough to stagger and daze it long enough to consume it. All of the biomass came rushing back, and he panted as he rapidly made his way towards the hunter that had caused him so much trouble. 'That was certainly one of my more extreme devastators...' He thought, before focusing on consuming his prize.

His tendrils snaked out from his body, excited at the prospect on consuming such a large hunter, when something felt wrong. They stabbed into it, it's flesh ripping apart but it wasn't being pulled into his body like it was supposed to- what was going on? He had defeated it hadn't he?

It appeared not, as much like when he attempted to rescue Alison, the hunter batted him away with a swing of it's powerful claws, a powerful bellow escaping it's throat before it bounded away from him, retreating to recover from it's wounds. Alex hit the concrete rooftop, hard, and a wet 'snap' was heard from the interior of his arm and chest. "Something's wrong..." He gasped as his biomass tried to regenerate the damage done by the leader hunter, "why can't I break him like the others?" He lingered in the same position while his injuries were knitted back together and a deep scowl overtook Alex's face as he rolled into a kneeling stance. He was going to have to consult Ragland again...

_(P.O.V change)_

It was bad enough I had to beat up the hunter once. Having to beat up 4 times? That was just an insult to my pride. The second time was when Ragland had me 'coax' the beast into a rundown building where I could subdue it so he could examine it (in which case I had to 'borrow' a helicopter from Blackwatch to lead it across half of the city), the third was me HAVING to subdue it so he could actually get near enough TO examine it. Never in my life had I ran so thin of patience, I was so dangerously close to consuming the doctor and examining it myself- time being far too preciously short for Alison. I had wasted too much time already trying to get an answer as to why this bastard still resisted being consumed, but finally I had the answer.

"The leader hunter has two brains and two spinal columns," Ragland had told me with great interest, "break both backs, and it should enter a recovery stage. During this stage, it's vulnerable to consumption." Before the final syllable had finally left his mouth, I was already walking out of the door to his clinic (which Dana was safely holed up at) and heading over to the leader hunter I had so continently captured to begin the fourth and final round of our irritating dispute. I shattered the doors to the abandoned building with a single kick, far too eager to get this over with and I immediately capturing the attention of it's current and only resident. "Let's finish this, you god damn bastard..."

It didn't take anymore convincing, it was already pissed off that I had trapped it inside this derelict building. My blade appeared within moments, and both of us dashed at the other with the full intent to kill. The hunter took the first strike, catching my still-human arm with it's talons as I pushed off the ground to the left. I gritted my teeth in irritation, after fighting it so much, it had begun to expect what my first move would be- the gash along my secondary arm which was busy reforming itself clear evidence. I decided it was time to stop thinking, and just let the instincts of a cold-blooded killer take hold. No more messing around.

Things seemed so much faster when I truly let go of myself, letting the virus take over everything and fight for dominance against the supposed superior of the opposite race, redlight. I charged at the hunter, a sadistic smirk covering what hints of sanity I had left inside of me as I blocked it's attack with my second blade-arm I had transmuted, cutting down hard upon it's torso and shoulders as they entered it's toughened flesh. The sight of blood simply made my body tremble with carnal delight, and I savoured the feeling of cleaving through it's skin before jumping away, evading the bite of it's jaws which now shook the foundations of the building with it's enraged roar.

It came at me again, the ground shaking with the large and heavy strides the hunter took, and it raised it's giant claws- ready to carve off a limb or two. I smirked even further went I saw the previous attack had damaged it, the hunter's blood spilling down it's body like a small waterfall would. I easily evaded it's attack, pain hindering it's movements, and I immediately dug further into it's neck and shoulders, hacking away with ruthless abandon which only increased the flow of blood and hindered the hunter further.

I had managed to almost remove one of it's front legs before I was punched away, an involuntary cry of pain leaving my throat before I could stop it in it's tracks. I skidded along the broken concrete- rolling to avoid injury like the past few times, and came to a stop 10 metres away, but from what I had seen, I had done enough to break it's backs without much resistance and end this fight. It had dragged on far too long. Biomass rippled around me, repairing the scrapes I had received from it's attack, and it prepared me for my final few attacks.

The leader hunter lumbered towards me again, clearly none the wiser as to my plan. I jumped high, making sure to gain enough momentum before plummeting back down onto it's unprotected back. From what I could tell, I had already broken some bones from the impact alone judging by the telltale wet 'snap's and 'crack's, so it only made it even easier to slowly snap it's first spine, the spinal column being torn to a funny angle as my knee pressed into it.

Another louder, and much more painful sounding 'snap' resounded through the room, and it bucked violently like a horse would, desperately trying to get me from it's back.

I smirked as I was forced off, knowing that this battle was as good as over as I watched it stagger away, blood trailing behind it like a fuse to some particularly powerful industrial TNT. I didn't have to rush, I had time to enjoy this kill one side of me mused, while the other complained that Alison was still in danger, at the cruel mercy of Elizabeth Greene and her minions. I growled, feeling that all too familiar confusion sink in again. What do I do...?

Torn between savouring the kill and getting it over with, I reluctantly went with the latter, deciding to break it's final spine and end this mess. The hunter hadn't of limped far when I cleaved off it's left front leg, causing a pathetic whimper rumble from it's blood-covered and damaged throat. Jumping onto its back for the final time, I grappled it's neck and pulled hard, my knee digging into it's muscle and bones and then it's spine. It pulled back, unwilling to die, but I had already won by now, it's back finally collapsing into an odd and crippled angle. I felt the 'crunch' as it's second spinal column give in, and the vivid excitement as my tendrils seeped out from my body to claim their hard won and long awaited prize.

Euphoria flowed once again through me as the new DNA and biomass were consumed utterly and entirely, it's matter right down to the atomic level becoming my own. Everything felt tremendous for a brief moment, then the memories kicked in- prying me away from the real world with an iron grip. These memories were not clear, but moreover blurry and unfocused. Images of weapons flashed vividly, or what looked like weapons which the humans used, people from Blackwatch or average civilians, and a pair of female eyes that seemed like they were watching- always watching, everything over the city. A single clear voice called out over all of the chaos surrounding me, but what it said didn't make sense to me, just causing me more confusion and- dear god when would it stop!...

Eventually, it did stop, the memories fading to the back of my head, but the thousands of voices that called out didn't, all ruled by one single voice that called out over them all. I had a way to consume their leaders, and now I had connected to their lines of communication. I had all I needed to set my rescue into motion now. The only thing holding me back, was finding the specific hunter that took Alison from me. Then there would be hell to pay...

_All done, though I feel like I could of done much better in places. Fight scenes are good to write but having so much fighting in one P.O.V felt like it would of bored you all to death. I tried mixing it up a bit once again. I hope you liked it! Reviews (that make sense) are very welcome!_

EDIT: I have added text saying in _italics_ and underlined writing whenever there is a _point of view change_, lines didn't work for some reason.  



	21. I get a literal mindfuck moment

_Ok so in my last chapter, I put a little complaint to a previous reviewer who chose to do so anonymously, which I mistook for someone trying to troll me, and to that, I sincerely apologise. I didn't realise you were being serious and now I understand, really really sorry about that! And also, a huge thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed thus far, I don't think I would of made it here without you. It really encourages me to continue writing whenever I get writers block or I'm typing out a difficult chapter/experiment. I was actually expecting about 2 or 3 reviews by the time I had finished this entire story, but I have by far exceeded my expectations by quadruple or even more! That's so wonderful!_

_So this, my lovely people, is for you. Enjoy!_

"Wake up..." Something whispered in the blurred fever that had become my mind, coaxing me gently to do as it said. I didn't want to listen, but it called me again, prying me from the troubled rest I had been forced into having. It came slowly at first, but eventually my body began to respond, and my eyes gradually began to glimpse colour and fuzzy shapes. Feeling then began to seep back into every cell, and with the feeling, came the dull throb of pain, most prominent in my side.

It took longer than I would like to admit to realise I was bound to a wall (which greatly explained the cold sensation along my back), with what looked an awful lot like tendrils, pulsing with burning colours like red, burnt umber and black. I then heard voices, so many voices around me- all talking, all whispering in something I didn't understand. Shapes changed from permeable to solid, and finally gained detail the longer I tried to see what was in front of me. Squinting, I tried to see the person standing less than 3 metres away from me, who was that...?

She seemed to have short but bright orange hair which in places seemed more brown than others, and she wore some weird leather suit... I swear I had seen her before- "YOU!" I shouted from my binds on the wall, my face immediately taking a vicious glare, "You're the one who's been invading my head! Who are you!" I demanded, the voices around me growing louder, seeming to take on a worried tone. The lady which I still couldn't see in clear detail somehow gave off a calming vibe (in my head of course, seriously, stop fucking with my brain!) walked closer to me, and moved a hand towards my face. I flinched away, fully expecting her to hit me or do something violent, but instead her hand reached up and caressed my cheek as though she was welcoming me home- the calming sensation in my mind becoming even stronger.

"I am your mother," her voice sounding affectionate as she smiled at me ever so slightly. Finally, I shrugged off the calm which had tried to subdue me, and I began to wrack with painful laughter. I laughed in an almost hysterical way, causing flashes of pain with every jolt of my sides, causing the many voices swirling around me to chatter in confusion, even the lady in front of me unsure as to why I was laughing. "...My mother, became a prostitute, and left my entire family for dead in the search for... I don't know what, but she left us," I giggled again, clearly finding the idea that this woman being my mother highly amusing. I must of seemed crazy, insane even with my unhinged laughter echoing through this place. "And you certainly aren't my stepmother, she had my life HELL for the past... 7 years or so?" I laughed again, before finally groaning in agony as my side began to protest and started bleeding again.

The lady simply watched as I had my moment of insanity, then saw the object in question which was causing me so much discomfort- the nasty gash in my side which still had not healed. Sympathy flowed through what I had decided to call the mental link, and she forced me to be still. Reaching towards me, I immediately snapped into realisation that I was in danger here, and panic raced through me causing me to struggle and resist, but whatever she was doing held be firmly in place. God damn it!

Her hand covered my injury, causing a yelp escape from my throat involuntarily, but after a few seconds I felt what was once blinding pain turn into a soothing sensation, and blood had stopped flowing from my wound. I had been completely healed. I looked up in confusion, the pressure restraining my movement now gone. "You healed me... Why?"

The affection from before creeped into my head. "You are my daughter." My frown from before began to grace my features, though more in confusion. "I'm not your daughter, I am- was human, and I was born in England, I have no idea who you are." "I am your mother," she insisted, "you were reborn, becoming one of us... You have gained a higher level of existence than humanity." Joy practically blasted through the mental link and into my head as her left index finger touched my forehead. "Watch," she whispered to me, a note of longing clear in her voice. What I guessed were memories bombarded me much like the emotions she had made me feel, although I could do nothing to block these.

Through the neurones and the synapses that I was sent flying through, there were brief flickers of a village, not to big in the middle of nowhere, and people- I had no clue who they were, smiling at something, a camera? Blackwatch were there, or what looked like the early stages of Blackwatch were present, policing the village while scientists preformed... Tests. There was a brief moment of just pure white covering my vision, then images of a 'perfect world' assaulted my view. There was no disease, no war, no poverty at all, everyone was connected through some kind of link. Everyone was one, with millions of voices united under a single cause. 'What had caused this to happen?' Was my one question until I saw that the people were not actually humans. They were like me...

I was pulled back to the real world, panting after such an experience. She wanted to infect the whole world didn't she? To in effect eradicate all human problems, but destroy all of the humans along with them. That was wrong, but it made sense didn't it? I was infected, yet still alive and the same as before, so what if it wasn't wrong at all? Conflicting opinions swirled around in my head, and a blossom of hope was felt, the voices around me becoming louder, more prominent in their campaign to get me to join them. They wished for me to spread the disease didn't they? Instead of end it...

"No." I called out, abruptly ending their talking, all hope that had congregated in my mind fleeing rapidly. "No, I haven't achieved a higher state of existence. Nor am I superior in any way." The equivalent to shock echoed all around the room, dismay replacing any hope they had. "I was human- and I still am. I am no different! Humanity will always have war, disease and poverty, but that was the way we were created. It is the way we have evolved, to survive!" The lady sighed in sadness and sorrow, the presence of said emotion beginning to make itself known. Then, without warning, I was assaulted with violent images of human atrocities.

Hunger from poor countries was often seen, children starving at the side of poorly constructed houses and roads. Diseases like malaria were predominantly shown too, with people bed ridden with horrid scars, people throwing up blood and bile, and corpses stacked into what looked like a small mountain- rotting and decaying while plagues of flies fed off their flesh. And finally the worst of all, warfare. The military was shown marching through villages, culling families- women, men, and children alike with no remorse or no pity. Women were raped, children with mutations due to chemical weapons were born, and thousands of screams, of terror, of desperation were heard all around my mind. 'Make it stop!' My mind screamed at me, not wanting to see the suffering of the millions before me, and the billions afterwards. As if on demand, the killing stopped, and I was here again, breathing laboured with tears ready to fall in my eyes.

"Do you see?" She crooned, a gentle hand stroking my face as I caught my breath. "We can end the suffering of these souls... Bring them new life..." The voices joined in, a slow drone forming a chant. "Join us," she whispered to me, desperately trying to get me to see her way. "Join us and we can create a new perfect world together... Mother and daughter, the way it was meant to be..." Humans had done many terrible things, spanning throughout the ages, but hadn't all races? We were one amongst a thousand, battling for survival, against others, against ourselves most times, but millions could not be blamed for the folly of a few- no, it wasn't right. I would not let a race be doomed to die because of the actions of the corrupt and immoral!

I didn't have to voice my decision, I knew they heard my thoughts. The lady in front of me seemed so disappointed in my choice, great sorrow and sadness pouring from her voice. "My daughter... How mislead you are." Before I knew what was happening, I felt like I was being torn out of my own body, everything I could see and hear becoming blurred and unclear one again. "Let me make you see..." I made out over the blaring drone of voices, whispers and screaming alike battling in my head to be heard. Everything was so loud... It hurt so much. Just, make it stop! make it stop!

I don't know how I did it, it felt like I was pushing against an entire hurricane which just my bare hands, but somehow, irreversibly, uncontrollably, I broke free. The weight of a thousand minds were repelled from my head and sent packing, clearly surprised that I had the mental strength to fight off the entire... Hive? And evict them from my personal space.

"You are not my mother! And I am sure as hell not your daughter you insane psychopath!" I screamed at her in a glorious rage, which for a moment I thought I was going to be killed for, until an explosion shook the entire building with a resounding 'BOOM!' Two more explosions followed the first, before a large gaping hole was punched right through the wall, on the opposite side of the room which I could now see oh-so-clearly. As the dust started to settle, everything went eerily quiet, as in the improvised doorway stood the bane of my life, and the savour of my existence.

"Greene!" He roared from the hole he had made, his ice blue eyes practically glowing with a need for vengeance and blood underneath that ever-mysterious hood. Within moments, what had turned from peaceful calm had evaporated, and all that was left in it's wake was destruction and bloodshed. Everything that could move was attacking him, cries of fury coming in the general direction he had made his entry from getting closer with each passing second. A variety of infected were somehow batted aside, completely disregarded with little care as my saviour made a beeline for the lady whom I now knew as Greene.

Within moments he was upon her, and she had no possible way to defend herself from the syringe he brought down forcefully into her neck, a sight that could make even the most cruelest of doctors flinch and fidget uncomfortably. Whatever was inside that syringe, it certainly didn't react well. Greene fell to the floor, convulsing and twisting painfully on all fours, before she expelled a large pool of biomass which also convulsed and began to twist. Before I could blink, he was knocked aside by what looked like an even bigger version of the hunter that had kidnapped me and made an attempt on Dana's life which had risen from the pool of biomass on the floor.

Everything had turned to an all out fight, and somewhere in all of this mess, Greene had escaped, and by the looks of it I was about to be eaten by a freaking hunter since I was still bound to this god damn wall! I was about to scream for his help as the hunter eyed me up, but instead of tearing ME to shreds, it instead tore the TENDRILS apart, freeing me enough to get the rest off by myself. It looked at me a moment longer, before a deep distant voice registered inside of my head. "Master..."

Before I could fully respond, it had jumped away, escaping from the hive before my hooded rescuer could make short work of it- seeing as he was currently picking off what looked like the lesser hunters to regain health and biomass. Using what little freedom I had been given, I changed my arm to a blade like my rescuer was using, and cut down the rest of the tendrils."Redcrown we have entered the core hive, ZEUS and HERA are here! I repeat, ZEUS and HERA are here! We are engaging hostiles!" ...oh for gods sake, how many more party guests were there going to be? And I had a name, it certainly wasn't HERA. Knowing that we needed to leave pretty soon, I hacked away at the damn tendrils still holding my right arm and leg, grimacing as blood spurted from each one as it was cut and fell off. Next time I saw that bitch Greene I was going to repay her for fucking with my mind, and it wouldn't just be physically either.

I heard another explosion somewhere from above as a tank shell was fired at me, just narrowly missing my head. I paled, if that had hit, I wouldn't be 'HERA' anymore, but moreover a viral puddle on the floor of which HERA used to stand. He seemed to of gotten the same idea, as without a second glance to the 'supreme hunter' he was fighting, he had leapt over to where I was, picked me up in his arms and was already heading towards the exit in a single dash. The hunter didn't follow either, but rather escaped the same way that Greene went, along with the rest of infected which were picking off any military or Blackwatch they could have a go at.

Moments later, we were already streaking through the manhattan sky, him bounding across buildings with practiced ease. I looked up at him, about to thank him for saving me- again, but the look on his face gave the impression that he was far away from here, his movements almost like they were auto-pilot. Resigned to not speaking as he transported me in his arms (even though I could probably walk just fine) I knew that later on we would talk. Alex Mercer was sure to have an awful lot to say, after the little stunt I had pulled which got me into this mess in the first place.

_Don don don! A little bit of a curious note to leave it on, but believe me, I am going to have so much freaking fun writing the next chapter! However a bit of a warning as to why it may be a tad bit late for publishing tomorrow. One, I have the second part of my 10 hour GCSE art exam (since like the person in this story, I plan to be an artist), which means I will be drawing for 5 hours solidly. I will want to come home and relax for an hour before I churn out the next chapter, so please be patient :)_

_Also, a little fact you may find useful, is that I always publish my chapters everyday between 06:00 P.M and 09:45 P.M (in England), since this is the time I either finish writing or get my iPad which is the device I use to access fanfiction, however on weekends it could practically be any time, since I stay up late during the weekends. _

_Hope this helps for when to expect my work to be published, and one last question before I wrap this up. Would you like me to create a sequel to this if I pull off a good enough ending? _

_Hoping to get some replies! See ya!_


	22. Alex has a sense of humour?

_Oh my dear gosh did I have fun with this chapter. Yeah, it's finally here, the feels chapter. Not to much mind you, not yet- that would be waaaaay too soon, but just enough to give a sense as for what is to come. No, before you start fangirling or flaming, no kissu, just light affection. Things are still a tittle tense between the two, but from now on, they will be much more close. _

_Also I got question asking that 'will cross appear and be an active character in this fan fiction?' And my reply is, yes, he will be used in this fan fiction, and pretty soon too. Fights and violence becomes more frequent now, since ol' Elizabeth Greene is about and about, and her irritating pet is too. What bother! _

_And finally, reviews and private messages alike are very welcome, I need them to improve and become an all around better fan fiction writer :) thank you! And of course, enjoy!_

Well I did say he'd have an awful lot to say, and god damn was I right. Although, I should be grateful I guess, he saved my sorry hide. "What the hell were you thinking!? Jumping in front of that hunter?!" He yelled at me, clearly displeased with my actions. "Alex I-" "Not only that, but you hadn't consumed anyone recently either, why? Because of guilt?" He was full on yelling at me now, leaving me with very little to say and feeling quite scared (did I mention I am very easily scared when people yell at me?). He glared as I opened my mouth to answer but he cut me off once again, "You can't not consume people, it's how we survive! It isn't a choice you can make now because you aren't human anymore!"

I flinched at his last statement and he saw, clearly regretting what he had told me. His glare let up a bit and he sighed in frustration and guilt, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't-" "no, your right. I'm not human anymore..." I repeat more to myself than to him, feeling hollow and deflated. I suppose back in the hive I was speaking more out of anger than truth. Alex fidgeted on the spot, then attempted to talk again. "Look... Alison I- Fuck I'm not good at this..." He started pacing, clearly distressed and agitated about something, and it had to be big to cause him to act like this, usually he is teasing me ruthlessly. Not that I'm complaining...

He turned to me abruptly after a few moments of pacing, and his face was etched with pure worry. His tone was so quiet I had to strain to hear him, "I... I was just so fucking scared... I had no idea what to and-" he moved closer to where he had forced me to sit (on a hospital bed) desperation flickering in those clear eyes of his. "...When I saw you so broken and bloody in that hunter's claws- I thought... I thought I had... Lost you..." The last two words were barely a whisper, but what he said made my heart wrench on the inside, even if it didn't register on the outside. On the outside I more expressed shock, unsure of what or say or do. Alex must of taken it a different way because a flicker of hurt crossed his features which right now looked so tense and in pain- but not physical pain.

"Alex? I..." I looked at him, worry beginning to creep into my own features at his sudden movements and outbursts. What was going on in that head of his? "I'm sorry Alison... For ever doubting you. You saved my sister's life..." He watched me carefully, and he received a smile. As sweet as that was, that was a little random wasn't it? He jumps from losing me to his sister? It's almost like he was feeling guilty about it...

"There was ever any doubt?" I laughed slightly, attempting to joke but by his guilty expression it gave me other ideas. Oh... "...There was?" I asked quietly, receiving another guilty look. I think if I looked depressed before, I must look 10 times worse now. "I was going to tell you, right before the- the incident," we both flinched, "happened. The reason why we didn't want to share our conversations with you yet is because we have been betrayed by someone before. Not another Blacklight host, but someone." He sounded angry, pissed off even, and if his tone of voice didn't give it away then his arms which were shifting unintentionally did. I quietly asked if I was allowed to know who, afraid that he might get even angrier, but he simply laughed. A humourless empty laugh that resembled more of a bark than a 'ha'.

"By my 'ex-girlfriend', Karen Parker-" "wait wait wait, YOU had a girlfriend?" I interrupted him but then quickly clamped my hands over my mouth. I didn't need to, since he just looked at me, slightly amused before continuing, ignoring my slightly more than rude question. " She had said she was making the cure, to get rid of my... Condition." He paused, as if in remembrance, "she was with Blackwatch. Turned out this 'cure' she made was some mutated kind of cancer. It almost killed me too." I opened my moth to say something, anything, but he beat me to it and continued the story he was telling me. " , the person you saw earlier, cured me of the 'cure'. This is what I was going to tell you, having trust in someone- it's only ever gotten me killed, well except Dana."

He wrung his hands nervously in an oddly human way, constantly moving. "But I am, like you- I have your 'condition' too, why would I ever betray... Oh." It finally clicked in my mind as to why he didn't trust me. "Yeah, Greene. I thought she might be an ally to me- you saw how that turned out." He became more jumpy again, his movements more sudden and desperate. "I was responsible for her getting out and killing the city, but I didn't know, I had no idea that-" he looked at me again with guilt and regret, trying to say something but at the same time something was holding him back. I attempted to put his fears to rest. "Alex, I understand. You didn't know, and it isn't your fault-"

"But it is!" He burst out finally, thoughts that had been whirling violently in his head finally coming pouring out and he had no idea how to stop them. People can only take so much, before they finally break. I guess this rule applied even to Alex. "I gave the infection a leader, a ruler to neatly organise everything- I fucked up and now everything is going to shit! Dana nearly died and you-" I quickly jumped up and covered his mouth, much like I did with my own before. I continued his sentence for him, "-am alive, well, and safe. Alex... I don't know what the future is going to throw at us, but find it somewhere in your heart to trust me when I say this, that I would never betray you. Blackwatch can come and destroy the whole city, hunters can come and tear me apart limb by limb," Alex visibly flinched when I mentioned 'hunter', "heck even Greene can come and try to indoctrinate me, but I will never betray you. You and Dana- you're all I care about. You're all I have left in this world. I can't even say I have my own country because I was torn even from that." I gently removed my hand from his mouth before continuing. "You helped me through this, and I owe my life to you. I didn't jump in front of that hunter because of my stupidity," I moved a fraction closer to him, unsure of how he would react. "I did it because once upon a time, you saved my life too and also... I care about you. More than I have ever cared for anyone else."

More than anything, he seemed shocked- but somewhere in the web of intrigue that is Alex Mercer, I could of sworn I saw a small element of relief. It was then my turn to be shocked as he gently took my wrist into his hand- his fingers easily encircling my wrist, and tugged me forward into a sincere and Heartfelt hug. "I... Thank you." He said simply, a note of what sounded like affection entering his voice. "I don't know what I would of done if I lost you, or Dana..." I felt slightly awkward at first (since I never really received hugs, especially not from a guy!), but eventually, I returned the hug, resting my head delicately upon his shoulder. I let the moment last for a few moments before a devilish comment flitted though my head.

"I'm never letting you live this down by the way."

As far as I could tell, his face lit up with a smirk to match my own and he muttered to me as he held me a fraction tighter to him. "I didn't expect you would. Although I could say the same about you peaking at me while i'm asleep. If you want to see me naked you could of just asked..." There was a brief pause before I attempted to pull away, yelling none to quietly. "HEY! I WAS BEING NICE OK? I was checking to make sure..." "Hmm? Make sure of what?" His voice teased as I was unable to escape his grasp. My voice went quieter, slipping in to an almost tired tone. "...I was making sure that you were alright, you left your door open, so I was worried you had collapsed or something..." His grasp softened slightly and he rested his head on my shoulder, a strange thing to do for someone like Alex.

"So, does this mean we are in a sense dating?" I smiled, attempting to joke but at the same time hoping he took it seriously for some reason. He did, and after a pause- like he was in mid thought- replied with something I definitely wasn't expecting. "I don't know yet. The barbaric side of me definitely appeals, but I need more time before I can think of committing. You aren't Karen, but... Wounds like those need time to heal."

WOAH woah woah! Wait what? Did I just hear right? I would of asked him to repeat his sentence but deep down, a little voice inside my head was rejoicing, saying that this was right and I should be happy that he was even considering the thought. Also, I wasn't exactly able to have a normal relation with anyone anymore- what with... You know. Everyone else would scream and run in fear at the mere mention of my name now, that and the fact that I was on records officially claimed dead. So all hopes of anything even remotely romantic had been torn from my life. All except one. Well, two I guess if I was bi, but I'm not, so one. And that one was Alex Mercer. He was attractive alright, but he had serious mood swings, and also wasn't he dramatically older than me? Like decades older? In technicality he was actually only about 2-3 weeks older than me, but still. I had never had a boyfriend before either, I was- as you say, a virgin in all senses.

All of these thoughts ran through my mind within seconds, and I came to a conclusion not long after. Summarising everything in a brief sentence, I hugged him a fraction closer. "You know, I can live with that," I smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in what felt like ages.

_Yay! Done! ...Perhaps I should of toned down the hugging a bit, but I feel like after what Alex went through, he deserved to let out a little pent up emotion. He isn't made of stone, although sometimes he certainly acts like it. I liked this chapter a lot, for the fact that it is such an event changer in the story, but also because it was just nice to write about the other side of Alex, which cared for the people close to him. And unlike with Dana, he doesn't have to worry too much about freaking Alison out or injuring her, since she is effectively the same as himself._

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you again, same time, same place tomorrow for the next chapter :) (P.S, for those interested in my personal life, the art exam I mentioned yesterday went wonderfully)_


	23. Did I mention I hate needles?

_ok so... I'm really sorry for not getting out a chapter yesterday, but I have good reasons as to why. For my first tric- reason is due to this fan fiction I had not had as much time as so would like to spend on my artwork, so last night I spent painting with my newly acquired waterpaints and emulsion. I painted some very pretty pictures :3_

_my second reason would be because I was sketching out some concept art for some things mentioned in this chapter, and it took me quite awhile to get them just right. This fan fiction isn't just a stand alone thing, it will have artwork and other stories backing it up and exploring the world just that little bit more. The artwork will either be concepts of things mentioned, or the drawings that 'Alison' does in the story, so in a sense she will be a living, breathing character who you can actually interact with, and not just some person you read about, appreciate for a week or so then forget about. I think some of you people will really appreciate some of the things I'm going to pull out more my hat ;) rest assured!_

_and finally my third reason? I had to do a lot of research for the chapters ahead to make them believable, and to think up ways of how to twist the plot so I do something no one else has ever done before. I think I managed to do such a thing :) anyway, enough of my excuses, here is my next chapter. I will have another one out today to make up for yesterday's because I love you all so much. Enjoy!_

"Can I come back in now?" Dana asked from the doorway, having just narrowly missed our little moment together. I had to greatly restrain myself from freaking out as she oh-so-casually just walked into the room and sat on a table nearby. "Well, you've made yourself welcome anyway but yes," I laughed, glad to see the overly confident person that was Dana Mercer. Even Alex was smirking slightly, looking very relaxed compared to just moments ago. "I'm sure Alex has probably thanked you already but... Thanks back there. I don't think I'd still be here if you didn't... Y'know." She smiled weakly at me in her strange way at being sincere and I nodded. "You are welcome I suppose?" I laughed again but less this time, a period of silence engulfing the entire room like everyone was thinking.

"So what now?" Dana asked, looking more at Alex than me. No one really was sure of what came next, not now that such a dramatic event had fully unfolded and been solved, kind of like after you finish reading a very good book- you feel unsure and empty after finishing it. "Well... I'm not that sure but I think we need a new hideout, the last one was probably trashed and discovered by Blackwatch right?" Dana blinked, looking at me curiously before nodding. Obviously, she had not expected me to say anything. "Yeah, that would be a good idea... And speaking of Blackwatch, I've been unable to track their movements lately, we'll need to check up on them too. They have been too quiet for a group like themselves." Alex nodded in agreement, clearly thinking while we threw ideas into the circle.

"We could split up, Dana and I can go looking for a new place while you could 'check in' on Blackwatch. It would be the best way to go about things, wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure with all the bank accounts in Manhattan, we could buy practically any place we wanted." I looked enquiringly at both Dana and Alex, and neither showed signs of disagreement, until I went to say my next sentence. "O-" "Hang on." Alex interrupted, fixing me with a slightly tense glare. "After rescuing you from that hive, first I want to make sure you are well enough to go running about with my sister- don't give me that look." I tried not to grimace, knowing full well that this 'test' was actually an excuse to make sure I consumed things, but unfortunately my grimace became visible.

Thankfully, Dana didn't enquire, otherwise it would of been a very lengthy and slightly disturbing conversation. "...I'm not going to ask what you two are talking about but I guess I'll stay here until you two get back. I'll be safe," she added for Alex's benefit most likely, and seeming satisfied, both me and Alex left Ragland's morgue- to learn the finer aspects of to dine. Prototype style.

Somehow this lead to leaping around the city, Mercer leading the way since I had no idea what exactly we were doing. Eventually he gestured to land on an inconspicuous building overlooking what looked like a smaller version of the one Greene had previously trapped me inside. Down below, what looked like mixture of the shambling infected were groaning and attacking almost anything that moved. I landed right next to Alex, foreboding what he had planned for me- and by the looks of it he didn't really want to do this either, even if it was for my 'own good'. Alex pointed to the crowd below us, and eerie glow emitting from the destruction below.

"See those?" He enquired, to which I simply nodded, "those are the kind of things we would consume on a day to day basis. Anything infected has useful DNA, and will gradually help us become stronger and find useful mutations, like the blade you acquired. However, when the situation becomes... Desperate, we can also... consume humans." I felt a wrench of terror and disgust twist my stomach, before looking at Alex. he was looking down, avoiding my gaze with his hood. "Not something I will ever enjoy doing." He muttered, before jumping down, arm shifting in mid-air.

Following his example, I jumped down too, shivering as my arm shifted to a blade similar to Alex's. I was reluctant to do any killing at first, and simply watched in the shadow of the skyscraper as Alex cut down a dozen people within the first few seconds of touchdown. How could he be so cold? I mused, a faint hint of dread twisting its way into my thoughts, but I was quickly snapped out of it when he turned to look at me, expecting me to continue onwards. I hesitated, stating that "these things, they are still human! I don't want to kill them!"

He simply shook his head, a cold and emotionless glare taking control of his face. "Not anymore. These 'people' cannot be saved. They are living corpses, too far gone to ever have any hope of being saved- they had no problem tearing apart a pregnant woman to feast upon her and her unborn child. The only salvation we can offer is to kill them, and end their pain. Now, what are you waiting for? You can't do anything to stop this mess if you don't consume."

I wasn't sure what to do- Alex had become so terrifying and fearsome all of a sudden, and if I didn't consume I'd either face an angry Mercer sibling or an angry zombie crowd. Against all of my convictions, and moral values, I did as Mercer had asked of me, running into the crowd of the unholy dead. Never in my life had I been so disgusted with myself, crushing people's throats with one arm, and dicing people in half with the other, my body instinctively consuming people as they were forever sent from this world into the next. It wasn't any easier than the first time, in fact I think it was even harder- in the lab it was do or die, but here I had a choice. And my choice was to kill them all.

Somewhere in my mind I registered the feeling of emotion slowly slipping away, and that Alex had joined in with the merciless slaughter along side me too, bodies being torn in two and then consumed by him. A smirk unlike the previous ones he used around me practically gripping his face. With each kill I made- I seemed to crave more, growing fraction stronger each time I filled this primal need for blood. How could I ever do this? How could I ever kill so many people and still WANT to kill more?

I had no idea how long I had been in a state of blindness, of simply see and kill- no questions asked, but I was snapped out of it by Alex, who was standing in nearby, a slight smirk on his face. "Well... To say I'm surprised, is an understatement..." He gestured to the completely cleared street, and then to my arms, and I looked down, still feeling dizzy due to the effects of... Hell I don't know WHAT it was. Bloodlust?

I was just as surprised as he was when I discovered I had now (somehow) sprouted some new kind of mutated arm, with what looked like razor sharp needles/thorns sprouting from the top at the shoulder where they were the biggest, stretching along the rest of the slender yet dangerous arm like they would on a rose, before coming to a stop where the hand had been formed. There were moderate spikes upon the knuckles and finger joints, and then long thick needles where the fingers ended, the thumb having the thickest needle of them all. It almost looked like they had been embedded into the very ends of the fingers and thumb... All things considered, they looked an awful lot like claws- but not quite, like they could possibly used like claws but had an entirely different functional altogether.

"The hell?" I stated, examining my newly discovered arm which Alex was just as interested in as me. "It almost looks like a rose stem... Hey, do you know what this is Alex?" He shook his head, just as clueless as me. Huh, I had something he didn't... Weird. Wondering just what it did, I waved it my arm around randomly, and rapidly discovered exactly what it's purpose was...

The moment I had waved it with moderate force and my arm had fully extended, the quill-like needles shot from the end of my fingers with a shrill cry like that of a blowdart, racing rapidly towards Alex who so happened to be in the direction I had unintentionally fired in. A stab of panic took hold of my stomach as he dodged three of them, but he wasn't so lucky for the other two. One of them cut through his arm, shredding flesh and bone like it was made from cotton, and the other one had firmly impaled itself into his chest (ironically, in the exact same place I had kicked him all those days ago), making him fall to the ground with a pained cry.

"ALEX!" I yelped, immediately running over to make sure he was alright. I knew he could regenerate, but how was it possible to regenerate from THAT? He was motionless on the floor for a few moments, the needle still stuck inside of him when a low groan emitted from his throat. His arm had already begun reknitting his bone and muscle with a lattice of tendrils and biomass. "Alex are you alright?" I asked in a worried tone as he reached up to grab the tip of the needle and (none-too-gently) pulled it from his chest, a gruesome splatter of blood accompanying the removal of the thin blade. "...Why is it whenever I take you outside, I end up getting injured by you?" He grunted, waiting until his injuries had healed considerably before getting up. I felt so damn guilty now, but at the same time, both occasions he had caused, so in all technicality it was his fault...

A slight chuckle from him and a smirk on his face showed he was just joking, and I immediately felt stupid. He was so mean to me it was unreal... "It seems we've discovered what it does at least, and I certainly don't want to be on the receiving side of that thing again," he quipped, giving a cautious glance to the needles on my hand, which had somehow in all of the confusion grown back. "Scared I might be a match for you now, Mercer?" I grinned, feeling slightly more confident now. "No, I could still knock you out of the water with just one claw. But even so, I wouldn't want more holes in my chest. It's a bitch to repair." He paused, examining the street around us, "you should get back. We've spent too long here and I have a feeling Blackwatch is up to something big." Alex seemed to think over his next sentence before saying it. "...And be safe. I don't want to have something happen to you again. Either of you."

He attempted a half smile, then turned around and jumped away, gliding from rooftop to rooftop to meet up with our old friend, Blackwatch. I sighed, feeling suddenly tired after such a variety of events, but I knew there were more to come. More specifically, more to come involving the other side of the dysfunctional Mercer family. Dana. Knowing that time was wasting and Dana would probably be pissed at having to wait about for so long, I ran up the nearest wall, pleased that I could now do it without needing much thought, and hightailed it towards the morgue owned by Ragland. Where Dana was just waiting to give me an earful.

_Well? Good idea to give Alison a completely different weapon to Alex? Or bad? Personally I think it was a good idea, the traditional weapons of Prototype are ok, but I couldn't see Alison actively using them if she had a choice. I gave her something much more suited to her personality. And no, the weapon will not be overpowered, I already have something worked out to counteract the weapon's power. _

_Also I received some feedback on what people would expect in the sequel to this if I did one, and it was very interesting to say the least. Although I have a few ideas of my own of how it's going to go down after the infection, I just thought it would be nice to hear what the readers have to say. Just so you know, evil bad and psychopathic Alex is a no go. I love Alex way too much to ever write him the way he was in Prototype 2. _

_Reviews and messages are very welcome as usual, and if you have ideas you would like to see done, drop me a line or something, I am moped to yupr suggestions! :)_


	24. The best kind of bank theft

_Well, this chapter was certainly interesting to write, considering I wrote it as someone I don't usually write as. It was good though, it turned out quite well. as promised, here is my second chapter of the day! Enjoy!_

"For gods sake, your as bad as my freaking brother! How long does it take to do- whatever it was you were doing? No- don't even answer that, you were realising around the city like freaking superman weren't you? Don't answer that one either, I know you were." I shouted at Alison, who had very inconspicuously wandered through the door, her hood up and eyes looking down like she was afraid of me. Heck she SHOULD be, making me wait for TWO HOURS!

"I'm sorry Dana... Alex-" "Don't even get me started with Alex and who is to blame! Both of you are in trouble, so no, don't give me that crap." I glared, making her shrink even further away from me. I felt a twinge of pride at having power over the two most fearsome people in Manhattan- besides Elizabeth Greene, but at the same time I felt kinda guilty for yelling at her. Before she left she didn't exactly jump at the idea of doing whatever Alex had planned, and to be honest, I wasn't exactly looking forward to Alex's excuses as to why he was so late letting her go either. Sighing and giving her a slightly guilty look, she stopped shrinking from me in fear but still kept her distance. "Sorry, I keep forgetting that you aren't my brother and you're still just a kid... No offence of course."

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes like her smiles normally did. "It's alright I guess, I suppose I deserved that..." She trailed off, looking slightly edgy. She had a habit of doing that, trailing off on sentences she wasn't quite sure how to finish or what to say afterwards, and then looking around the room for something of interest. I guess she wasn't the most confident person in the world then when it came to conversations then, the reporter in me noted.

She also had a habit of nibbling in the inside of her mouth when she was bored, and never stayed in the same spot for long unless she was drawing. Odd habits but I suppose we all had them. Alex had a habit of taking up the whole couch when he was bored, and entering the apartments we've had in the past through the windows, which on more than one occasion had resulted in me hitting him over the head with a frying pan because I thought he was a burglar. He received such a scolding after each time, I smirked inwardly, feeling that twinge of pride return at the picture of Alex looking so scared of his own sister.

"Dana? Are you alright?" I returned to the room of Ragland's clinic and morgue with a very confused Alison waving a hand in front of my face. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I must of spaced out for a minute." She nodded and repeated what she had said previously for my benefit. "I said, shall we get going? You'll have to help me since I have no idea where to start in a city like this. I came from a village surrounded by country side, not a city." This time, I nodded. Pulling up my hood to hide my face (since, y'know, I'm a wanted person and all that) we exited the clinic together, thanking as we left.

"To start," I spoke quietly to Alison as we walked towards a cash machine located two blocks from where we were, "We need a place which is an equal distance away from Blackwatch and any sources of infected. Alex gets incredibly paranoid about both."

To give her credit, she was taking this all in her stride. You wouldn't of guessed she was a 16 year old, and one who had been through hell and back by the way she acted. She certainly passed as an adult, maturity wise, and due to her height we could be mistaken for the same age and possibly even sisters. However, deep inside she was still just a kid, an innocent child in an adult's brutal world. A hint of pity seeped through onto my face but thankfully she wasn't looking at me, she was too busy examining the streets discreetly, keeping an eye out for any kind of threat.

'She must be taking this responsibility very seriously' I mused to myself, only snapping back to my senses as Alison pulled me into the shadows of an alleyway, narrowly avoiding a squad of what looked like Blackwatch grunts wearing gas masks and flak jackets. Their chatter and footsteps eventually faded into the background, but neither of us dared move until we were sure they had gone. Alison popped her head out before gesturing to continue our route, looking even more tense than before if that was possible.

"Thanks," I muttered gratefully, receiving a smile in reply from under her hood. We carried on in silence, every footstep around me sounding like another squad of Blackwatch coming for us. I was feeling very apprehensive, not enjoying the walk at all and I now understood why Alex didn't like me going outside if possible. We finally arrived at the ATM, and I quickly got to work hacking the machine. "Keep an eye out, this may take awhile," I said as I inserted my little device into the ATM. "Alright, make it quick if possible," she whispered, clearly ready to run if she had to. "Yeah, yeah..." I muttered, grinning as the little device began to work it's magic, hacking into the bank mainframe it was linked to.

Did I feel guilty for stealing other people's money? Not really. For a start they should have better security to prevent this from happening, and we were putting it to a better use. We were buying a hideout which would house the only hopes to save this damn city. So consider it a way of their repayment. Literally.

Alison had made herself useful and had blocked my activities from view in a somehow non-suspicious way. I felt her tense up next to me and I silently willed it to go faster. A successful beep caught my attention and the cash that I had 'requested' for came out in a large chunk of $10,000's and $1000's. I hastily shoved it into my pocket and Alison had begun to pull me along, but it was already too late. We had been spotted by the bunch of goons that had passed us earlier.

"Hey you! Stop!" One of the Blackwatch soldiers called, clearly pointing at us. We both froze, and ever so slightly I pulled my hood down. Next to me, Alison had done the same, thinking frantically before donning a calm demeanour. She turned around and faced the soldiers, seeming to look completely different than before. "I'm sorry, can I help you?" She spoke sweetly, seemingly catching the soldiers off guard before they continued in their same demeanour. "Yeah, can I ask if you've seen any strange people wondering around? a male with a jacket and hoodie, just taller than yourself or a female who wears shorts, a striped shirt and has brown short hair?"

Taking it in her stride, Alison replied after pretending to take a moment to think about his question. "No sorry, can't say that I have, me and my sister here just came outside to get some cash for some food and supplies. You know how bad it is right now... With the infection and everything..." She played the innocent role surprisingly well, convincing even me, her 'sister'. Even her English accent had been hidden well, no one would of known she was HERA, a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Yeah I can see why. The infection is getting fucking bad and it doesn't seem to be improving any time soon. Well, thanks for your help, I hope your journey goes well." Alison nodded and replied in a grateful and sweet tone. "You too, good luck in your future battles."

They breezed right past us, completely unaware that the one of the people they are looking for was right in front of them the entire time. I thought back to my notes on Alison's conversation skills and I crossed them out. I replaced them with 'incredibly good actor when under pressure'.

We started walking to an estate agents which I remembered was nearby to some place called 'The Tea Caddy', which was a fair way off. I sighed, knowing that it was going to be such a huge pain to get there and back to our apartment once we bought it, but one question was lingering at the front of my mind which I just had to ask. "How did you do that? And without breaking a sweat either, heck you even convinced me I WAS your sister." I whispered, probing for a reaction. She gave next to nothing in body language as a reply. "As much as I hate the assholes, not all of them are bad. Only a few, but not all. Has Alex ever tried a diplomatic in such situations? Or just cut straight to the bloodshed? I prefer not to kill if I don't have to. And also, he is only doing this to get a safe place for his pregnant wife to stay as she is due soon. Personally, I didn't want to create a widow in the middle of this infection."

"How did you know that?" I enquired, getting suspicious. Her reply was slightly unnerving, even for somebody like me. "When I got out of the lab, the people I consumed had lists of people inside their heads. Lists of people they wanted to get eliminated, people they respected, and 'files' on various marines who gained their interest. He was one of the people they wanted to eliminate, he has too much of a conscience to mindlessly murder. Mylo was his name, I think." She didn't even bat an eyelash during the entire time she spoke, and to be honest she was acting waaaaaaay too much like Alex for my liking. It was creepy...

Thankfully, we had arrived at our destination after little more than 10 minutes of walking, and just next door to the estates agents was 'The Tea Caddy'. Alison seemed familiar with the place as her face lit up with enthusiasm after seeing the little shop. "Do you need me to come inside with you?" She asked, but I shook my head. "Nah, it'll be ok. I'll meet you inside that shop over there once I've got the deed to a new place. I have a good idea of what I need to get." I smiled at her rapid agreement and she practically skipped over to the shop, obviously happy.

Skip forward 120 seconds and I had entered the estate agents, and was currently trying to explain to the man in front of the desk that I needed an apartment, preferably high up, and it NEEDED to have three bedrooms, an office, and a large living room. And a decent kitchen if possible. He then explained to me that something such as that would be very expensive, and very hard to find.

I sighed but then was struck with an idea from the way Alison had dealt with the marine. I just hoped it would work with this guy too. "Look," I tried to state quietly, "money isn't really an issue here. I have an awful lot of that, I have a lot with me right now. I just need somewhere away from the infection and," I leaned in a little closer, "Blackwatch. I just want to look after my family, and times haven't been to kind them them at the minute. We lost my little sister to the infection... And my mother is distraught... If you can help me out, anyway you can, then i'll be in your debt..." I put on a little cover story, and finally I seemed to get through to him. I guess Alison's way really did work...

he leaned closer to me, making sure he wasn't heard by the other workers. "Alright... I can help you, but I'm afraid there can't be any helping the cost. There is an apartment not too far from here that has everything you requested and a little more, and is completely out of Blackwatch surveillance. It's a little close to the waterfront, but at the moment it seems like the infection doesn't like going near the ocean so it's your safest bet..." I nodded, one question in my mind that needed asking. "How much is it?"

He let out a sigh and replied, "$500,000. I told you, it's expensi-" "done, I'll take it." I placed the cash from earlier on the desk and I watched his eyes practically pop out of his head. "My family owns a successful international business. So where do I sign-" "hold on, let me get the documents." There was a hasty rush to the cabinet behind him, and then a rush back. "Here, and here." He pointed to various spots on a deed, and I smiled. I should try Alison's way more often...

With everything signed, he handed me the keys to the apartment, with a slight smile. "Good luck to you. I hope everything goes well..." I nodded, and hastily left the estate agents, thanking him just before I left. I headed over to 'The Tea Caddy', and spotted Alison talking excitedly to an old lady with very thick spectacles towards the back of the shop. Walking inside, I sat on the seat just next to Alison, who smiled at me as I entered the shop. "Oh who's this? A friend?" The old lady smiled across the desk, and Alison replied just like before without missing a beat. "She's my older sister, right sis?"

I managed a smile, joining in with her lie. The lady seemed nice enough. "Yeah, we arranged to meet up here after I finished my work for today. Lets go sis," I smiled at Alison, trying not to drop the act. Taking the hint, she got up. "Your so mean today... I wanted to stay and chat," she grinned as we walked outside, bidding goodbye to the old lady on the way out. "Sisters?" I asked, raising an eyebrow but she simply smiled and shook her head, this time, her smile reaching her eyes.

"So where is the apartment?"

_Alison is such a strange person! Though then again, that's why she gained the interest of Alex Mercer... Anyway, feedback is welcome!_


	25. Razor potatoes

_This by far has been the oddest chapter I have written, purely because I couldn't really decide when the chapter was going to end, however I have both good news AND bad news. But first, know that this chapter has future references to possible prototype stories I may do. Just because Alison's story may come to an end at some point, doesn't mean I can't create other characters involved with this world, although Alex and Dana probably wouldn't be involved- mostly just brief mentions at the least. Anyway!_

_The bad news is that chapters won't be published EVERY day right now, but only because I am in the middle of tight deadlines for my artwork and graphics, and to achieve my future I need to meet these deadlines. So I am extremely sorry about this :(_

_however the good news is that everyone's favourite general- Cross, will make an appearance in the next chapter :D yaaaaay! And of course, there will be ensuring chaos :) wouldn't be a decent without trouble following Cross and Blackwatch! Also, shout out to my latest follower, Hellka777! Nice to have you on board! _

_Enjoy!_

Dana and I had practically raced to the apartment, half to get away from the streets, half to call dibs on the rooms first. When we finally found where it was, I was quite happy that we had an ocean view towards the east, I certainly wasn't expecting something like this. The 'apartment' was absolutely huge, mostly already furbished, and probably double the size of the last place and it was very modern, with large windows being a common feature throughout the place. Dana was grinning like an idiot when she saw the office area, it already had various computers inside, although most needed setting up.

Dana had called the smallest room, stating that "smaller is easier to keep clean." I just shook my head and looked at the other two. The first room was just before the end of the hallway, and by the looks of it, it was the master bedroom. The room was quite large, in length and width, a double bed pushed up towards the window on the right which gave the place it's only light. There was a small door inside which I guess was the wardrobe, and there was a table at the end of the bed but besides that, nothing interesting in here.

I looked at the room and the very end of the hallway which lead off the living room, and I immediately wanted this room. The place was completely blank, no curtains, no wall colours, just white everywhere pretty much. Even the floor had somehow been coloured white, which was... Really strange, to say the least. However, what really caught my attention was the large window at the very back of the room, which once again was the only source of light. The window was facing outwards towards the ocean, and since the window was facing the east, it meant I would be able to see the sunset rise every morning. I silently called dibs on this room and started planning what I would turn it into until Dana came to check up on me.

"Woah... Geez, a bit bright isn't it?" She commented, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the white in the room. "It's nice, I want this room!" I grinned, receiving a less than supportive reaction. "Really? It doesn't even have a bed so you can't exactly call it a bedroom..." "But it has potential! I can turn it into anything I want this way," I replied without missing a beat. "I can paint the walls with landscapes, and find furniture to match. If I can't, I guess I'll just make it myself I suppose..." Dana laughed at my enthusiasm and gave me a half smile, half smirk. "What, are you an interior designer as well as an artist?" "Well I did take graphics at G.C.S.E level..." I smirked back, watching her shake her head. "You are crazy..." She said as she walked out but I followed her, "all the best people are!"

"Right... Anyway I was wondering, could you go to the nearest shopping place and pick up some food supplies? I'm absolutely starving... Oh! And if they happen to be selling a laptop of any kind in the techy little part of the shopping department, can you get me one too?, it's pretty much all I'm missing from my little set up." "Only if I'm allowed to get some paint and brushes while I'm there." She fixed me with a 'fine, whatever' stare, then handed me a ridiculous amount of money. $3000 to be exact.

"And you people call me crazy?" I muttered but stuffed the money in my jean pocket anyway. "Yeah, but hey, having access to as much money as we want comes in useful doesn't it?" She grinned. I silently added rich and power abusive onto 'dysfunctional, and scary family' in my mind, before heading to the door.

"If Alex comes back, tell him I'm off being your personal slave for today!"

"Will do!"

fast forward about an hour or so, and I had so valiantly returned with Dana's requested items which were so annoying to carry up the stairs, let me tell you. I had to carry like 6-7 different bags with just two hands up 37 sets of stairs... "Danaaaaa, let me innnnn..." I whined at the door I had been locked out from, since I had forgotten to ask for the key before I left. And Dana, in all her sarcastic glory just treasured the opportunity. "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" She laughed on the other side of the door, clearly not planning on letting me in anytime soon. I decided to resort to dirty tactics. "...Then I guess this ice cream will melt and then there will be-" the door flew open within 5 seconds flat and I smirked, victorious. "And you call me mean..."

I walked (well, more like waddled with all of the bags) inside, and swiftly dumped all except for two on the kitchen floor. "There. Your food, don't even get me started on how hard it was to carry this up here without jumping..." "Love you Alison!" "Sure you do Dana..." For the next couple of minutes we ran around the kitchen putting away various things in various places, such as sugar, coffee, eggs and milk for the fridge since Dana liked both things, and a whole tonne of junk food for snacks and ingredients for meals as well as ready made dishes. "Wow, you got everything... That's impressive considering Alex usually forgets practically everything minus junk food." I laughed, an amusing thought of Alex doing the shopping running through my head. "Yeah well, my parents always took me food shopping with them every Saturday back in England... It was a pain in the ass but in a weird way it was quite fun."

I dwelled on the thought for awhile before gesturing to one of the bags. "They also were selling laptops in the 'techy' department, as you called it. I wasn't sure what to get, so I just got some laptop called the 'Razor-pro' or something like tha-" Dana's head snapped up immediately, kind of scaring me a little. "A what? Lemme see..." She half asked, half demanded as she dragged me onto the couch. I pulled out the box it came in and her face lit up like a damn christmas tree- I hoped it was a good thing. Apparently it was, as she started a full on positive rant, "oh my gosh Alison! These things are so freaking rare! Do have any idea how hard it is to obtain them online? Let alone in an ordinary general technology department! And-" "-I'm not that interested with how rare it is," I stuck out my tongue as a joke. "What I am interested in though, is how well it works. Soooo, can we set it up already?"

I don't believe that Dana has ever acted so child like before, but she certainly was now as she practically ripped into the box like a kid on Christmas Day and pulled out the laptop that has caused so much fuss. "Oh wow..." She breathed, clearly amazed by the machine before her. I tried not to smile as see examined it as every angle, I think this is how parents felt when they watched their children open presents... "I'm guessing you like it then?" "Alison if I wasn't so set on plugging this laptop in and getting it set up, I would kiss you right now!" "Good thing your 'set' on it then, personally I think Alex wouldn't be to happy walking in and discovering his sister swings that way," I laughed and I received one in return, a genuine smile covering Dana's face.

Eventually I managed to pry some of the wires from the box, and we had dragged the table from Alex's room to the living room, and had began setting it up there. We tinkered with various things for about 20 minutes, making extra sure things were set up according to how the instructions manual stated it was meant to be, before we finally turned it on. Personally I would of just put it on charge and turned it on immediately, but now Dana was treating it as carefully as you would a baby. Next she would be giving it nicknames...

The loading screen finally popped up after a minute, then came setting up accounts for different people. I went to get a bowl of crisps for Dana while she started setting up various accounts, obviously forgetting the entire reason as to why she had sent me on a shopping trip was to find something to stop her from being hungry. Well, while I was out shopping I had gotten myself things I wanted as well. I had bought myself a blue iPod nano that came with free headphones, a $50 voucher to purchase as much music as I wanted, and some paint for my room with a variety of different sized brushes. The iPod nano was in my pocket, but Dana had been to busy to notice the second bag full of my things I had bought, which I suppose was useful since I didn't feel like explaining what all of the paint was for again.

Emptying the packet of crisps into the bowl, a vibration went off in my pocket. Apparently, I was receiving a call- and pulling out my phone, it was from Alex. I answered as soon as I put the empty crisp packet down.

"Hello?" I answered, unsure of how to start the call. Alex's reply seemed slightly on edge and tense, although I didn't let on that I noticed.

"Did you manage to get an apartment?"

"Of course, we got one just fine. Dana had me go shopping for food though, what pain in the ass that was." There was a slight snicker across the connection.

"That saves me trouble later on then. Tell her I'll be home late for me. Where is the apartment anyway?" Saves him trouble?

"Towards the east, an equal distance away from Blackwatch and any hives." A shout from in the living room registered through the phone.

"What was that?"

"Dana is setting up a laptop she also had me get her. She got all excited over the laptop, a 'razor-pro' or something. Beats me, I just grabbed the one that looked the coolest."

"Mhmm... Well, as long as you two aren't causing trouble... Anyway, I'll be back soon enough. See you soon."

"You too Alex..."

He hung up, and I was left wondering what would cause him to be so late home. Perhaps Blackwatch had been up to something after all. Grabbing the bowl of crisps, I walked back into the living room where Dana had shouted from during the phone call. "I got it set up!" Dana cheered, clearly very happy with herself, and I couldn't help but smirk. "Finally, you would think that thing is made out of diamond the way you treat it..." "Can't help it if I know how to treat things right," "uh huh, like how you treated your last laptop?... Anyway, fire up YouTube or something, I'm boooooored..."

Without a moments hesitation, she fired up Tor (a less than legal Internet browser for hackers), and immediately typed in YouTube. "Anything you wanna watch?" Dana grinned, clearly made up with the laptop's speed. "Hmm... Ooh look for stuff related to me or Alex! Maybe someone videoed us when we were jumping around or something?" By the look of it, she had searched stuff on Alex before as almost immediately she pulled up a video of some hooded figure jumping off the walls and flipping in mid-air, which looked an awful lot like...

"Hey! That's me! That was just after I went outside to let you and Alex talk... And it's gotten like 1.5 million views," I laughed, not quite believing how someone had gotten this footage. We both laughed as the past me on the screen did a few flips before running off. "Let's check the comments," Dana quipped, scrolling down to see what people had said. 'Faaaaake' was quite common, along with 'its totally photoshopped', 'is this for an upcoming movie or something?', 'Totally awesome!', and 'this person is so badass!' There were other more negative ones, but nothing interesting. "I wonder how they got that..."

"Hey look, apparently you guys have a fan base!" "Seriously?" "Yeah, look," Dana pointed to the outgoing link, which read 'Prototype fan group'. Dana clicked it, and we were redirected to a site called DeviantART on which a group of artists had created various pieces of artwork resembling US. "I guess this is their way of showing their appreciation to us... By supporting us on the Internet." Dana said quietly, looking at all of the artwork that had been posted in the group. "I wonder if anyone actually has an accurate picture of me or Alex... Oh wait! Look at that one!" I pointed at a particularly well drawn one of two hooded figures looking down from a rooftop during the night, their eyes glowing from under the hood. One was clearly female, while the other was male.

I looked at it curiously. "My eyes do not glow like that do they?" I asked, looking to Dana for confirmation. "Yes they do, during the night your eyes are freaking scary," she laughed at my expense. "...Can't say I don't mind though, it looks really cool how they've done it..." The description of the drawing was quite interesting too, it said: 'Well guys, this drawing has quite the story behind it. It was during the night, and I was looking out of my window at the city again, when I saw these two shadowy figures jump onto a building nearby, and their eyes glowed so much I could see them from where I was sitting! We all know it was probably some infected, but what if it was Alex Mercer? That guy is awesome! If it was, he had a girl with him- I kinda wonder who she is... Anyway, I drew this before I went to sleep that night, and I just finished it...' I stopped reading and looked at Dana.

"People know Alex?" She nodded, not looking overjoyed at all. "He is the face of the news at the minute pretty much, and Blackwatch are painting him to look like a damn terrorist. Everyone knows about him, but few can ever claim they have met or seen him, and fewer still actually vouch for him against Blackwatch and the media. There is a small group of people in the city actually resisting the Blackwatch, called the Redlight-resistance. They do petty crimes, like theft, smuggling people around, and of course graffiti. They are pretty much renown for their 'Who watches the Blackwatch?' Propaganda which is posted throughout the city, and to be honest I kind of respect them. They are just trying to help out whenever Blackwatch are being abusive assholes." I nodded, making a mental note to keep an eye out for such propaganda.

We spent a further 10 minutes browsing artwork in various folders before Dana decided it would be fun to join in on the group's cause and make myself a deviantART account, but I wasn't even sure what to do there. "It looks simple enough, you draw, you get a pretty picture, and you upload it to the correct categories. What's their to be confused about? Plus it would be a good way to continue your art and strike back at Blackwatch at the same time!"

It looked like Dana was set upon this, and once Dana was set upon something, it was almost impossible to get her to back down. "There is two flaws with your logic though. One would be I have nothing to draw on right now... And the other would be that I don't even have an email address..." I sighed, knowing that she would now end up making me an email account too, and she did exactly that.

"Name for email?" "Uh... I don't know... PrototypeBlacklight02? I'm no good at naming things Dana..." She just laughed and typed it in, and after a few minutes we were then attempting to get a DeviantART account for myself too. "Name for-" "BlacklightArtist02" I sighed, knowing that I had no choice in the matter. "Ok, all done! You are now registered with DeviantART once you click the link in the email!" She exclaimed, clearly very happy with herself, until her stomach rumbled so very loudly. "You didn't eat did you?" I smirked, watching her pull faces due to her hunger. "Nope... And I may want to remedy that now. Be right back!"

She practically ran to the kitchen- right past myself whom had a full bowl of crisps for her the entire time. I facepalmed, knowing she would be awhile. "Well... While I'm here I may as well set up my iPod nano..." Plugging the iPod into the computer, I installed iTunes in under a minute (damn, Dana wasn't kidding when she said these things were fast), and was already redeeming my iTunes voucher and buying my favourite music (Evanescence, 30 seconds to mars, standing in silence, etc) by the time Dana had called to me from the kitchen.

"Alisoooooooon? Can you come here for a minute?" Dana yelled, clearly up to no good. I sighed, closing iTunes and hiding it in a place Dana would never bother looking (help folder), and paced over to where she had called from. "Whyyyyy?" I mimicked her tone. She gestured to the potatoes and various vegetables upon the countertops, and then to the empty knife drawer. I didn't like where this was going one bit... "Well, I kind of need a knife, but by now most stores will be closed. So... I may need to use your arm..." "My arm? how exactly do you mean- Oh." Dana looked at me sheepishly.

"Dana I don't think this is a very good idea..." I said regretfully as 2 minutes later she had somehow convinced me to let her use my blade arm as a kitchen knife. "It'll be fine, Alex did this before, with claws of course but still. Nothing went wrong then, why should it now?" I said nothing as I tried making the blade form as small as I could, then let Dana cut them against the edge of the 'knife'. The tomatoes cut just fine, a little slippery but nothing too bad. Then we tried cutting potatoes and cucumber, and I had to stop Dana from attempting to cut those, the sudden jolts as they cut almost got the cut, which could of been disastrous... "Let me do those, I don't want you to accidentally lose a finger or something..."

Finally happy that Dana wasn't being dangerous, she instead decided to record my chopping her vegetables. I tried keeping a straight face as the potato simply got wedged upon the blade in large chunks, and they refused to come off, but Dana's insane cackling and the thought of Alex going through this also had me cracking up. It only got worse with the cucumber too, the slices just stuck to the side of my improvised 'knife', every time I chopped the offending green stick it added a new 'decoration' to my arm. "Say hi to YouTube!" She grinned, and using my spare arm I just stuck up my middle finger. "Did you want that vegetable soup or is my arm for dinner now too?" "You are so mean."

Eventually we did get the soup cooking, but that didn't stop Dana's fun with the vegetables. She had decided to stick a whole potato on each part of the shoulder spikes which came with my blade arm, making up some weird kind of potato totem pole. "Dana did your family ever teach you not to play with food? Especially when there is a bioweapon of mass destruction involved?" "Nope." "It's a good job Alex isn't here then." "Why is it?"

We both jumped at the sound of the male voice and looked towards the door to which Alex was leaning against, a huge smirk plastered all over his face. ...Well shit, there goes any dignity I had left...

"...I'm guessing Dana had no kitchen knives again?"

"...Don't even start, asshole."

_I hope you all didn't mind the shenanigans that occurred in this chapter ;) but just so you know, the email and deviantART account mentioned in this chapter ARE real, and if you contact them, you will get a response from Alison! Just something I thought would help flesh out the story, although don't send hate mail to her, she is just telling her story against Blackwatch! _

_Here is the link to her deviantART account: _

_and if you want to send an email to her: PrototypeBlacklight02 .uk_

_(please note, all replies are in character, and will answer depending on how far the story has progressed here :) have fun!)_


	26. Cross-ed and double crossed

_oh my freaking god... I am so sorry everyone for making you wait so damn long, I just had so much stuff to do... You have my infinite apologies for not publishing a chapter in the past few days! Basically, I had lots of exams, art and graphics deadlines, writers block and laziness, but for you guys and girls, I powered through it all and finally produced the next chapter. The chapter after this one should be considerably easier now, since I finally managed to get a hold of prototype and play just past the part I am writing about. That's also another reason I was gone, I had a lot of plot research to do, especially for the captain Cross part... Ugh..._

_ Anyway, I insist you start actively looking at the deviantART account I created for this fan as well now, since I will be posting artwork for this story there, and I will also be posting references to the sequel to this fan fiction and possible other stories that could branch off this fiction. It will be worth your time, I promise! Anyway, read on, And enjoy!_

After finally serving Dana her soup, and removing the misfortunate potatoes from my blade and arm, it was considerably late into the night. Late enough, Dana claimed, for a horror film to be played. I grimaced at the mention of watching a horror film, I have always hated them- they did terrible things to my head during the night and god damn it I had only gotten out of my habit of being afraid of the dark a year or so ago... Alex didn't seem to mind, but was much more interested in watching my reactions each time scary music began to play, or gore came up.

throughout the film I had taken to hiding my face behind a pillow, which had then been taken away by Dana to lean upon, and then my hand to which I swear Alex was laughing at me for. Dana was cuddled up between me and Alex (mainly Alex, since he was her brother of course)- and by the looks of it the film was just about to draw to an end, judging by the increase of screaming and dramatic moments. I may be a prototype, and have consumed people whole, but this... This was just torture in the cruelest possible way... Watching a person's ribs be torn open in 'glorious detail' threw me over the edge, and I stood up quite abruptly, scaring Dana.

"I can't watch this anymore, how can you handle such bullshit..." I muttered as I stalked back to my room, earning a shout of anger from Dana when I called her 'film' bullshit. I fell into a state of semi-consciousness that night on the window sill, waiting for the sun to rise and colour my room with the many shades of yellow and orange.

Throughout the night I had snippets of dreams as well, barely registering behind my closed eyelids like they did when I was still human, but these weren't dreams of random things, these felt more like visions of the future somehow. I remember pictures of Alex, some room that really lacked colour- and a forest full of cherry blossom, like the ones back in Weaverham. Somewhere in the slowness of my mind, a pang of longing was felt, a longing to see Weaverham during the spring time again.

I was pulled from my semi-conscious state by the glare of the sun filtering through my window, painting the walls with extravagant colours just like I predicted it would. A wry smile stretched across my face as the sun came to rise, another day in heaven and hell had come to pass. Deciding that there was no possible way I could go back to sleep now, I got up and tip-toed to the bathroom, quickly took a shower and then decided it would be a good idea to finish obtaining my music on Dana's laptop.

It was 6:30A.M And as far as I could tell Dana and Alex hadn't stirred- which was fine by me as I got to check up on various things. I managed to get the last few songs I wanted, find the address of the closest art shop in Manhattan for future reference, browse YouTube for other videos of me and Alex, and then check my phone for any texts from Natasha- which counted up to no texts in total. I sighed, feeling completely bored and useless right now. Then a small idea struck me.

What was that group Dana talked about last night? Redlight-Resistance wasn't it? Yeah... It had to be. I looked it up on google, but next to nothing came up, just some journalist reports on people who claimed they were resisting the redlight virus, but not part of a group called the Redlight-Resistance. Then I remembered my little conversation with Dana about the deep webs, and how 96 - 97% of information is hidden from the public eye, and decided to use the Tor browser.

Firing up Tor, I started searching the group name, and much more information came up than before, although not much more. It was pretty hush hush, the only things popping up frequently being graffiti done by the group which was more often than not a spray painted image of a Blackwatch soldier with the words 'Who watches the Blackwatch?' written around it. There were a few files here and there about a resistance group stirring up trouble for the military, and that their work was a little less than peaceful. I dug deeper into the archives, and the deeper I dared to delve, the more information I began to uncover.

The group was pretty good at covering their tracks, almost too good, but they weren't perfect. Security video footage of what looked like a gang wearing dark bandanas and hoods met up with each over over a long period of time, and gradually began to migrate down an alleyway before disappearing from the camera view all together. More footage cropped up, but it was always of people walking into an alleyway hidden from camera view. It was all linked somehow by the looks of it, and I wanted to know how. These people could help us, and we could help them... But we had to find them first.

I searched around for more information on the group and discovered that they all wore a similar kind of uniform (mainly a bandana and a jacket of some sort), and that every alleyway they met up in had some form of their graffiti inside. It was a loose lead, but it was something. After half an hour of further poking around and finding nothing else of use, I decided to put myself to use. I was going to devote my time today looking for them- and not even Alex was going to stop me, though first I guess I had to consume some infected in case things turned nasty...

I logged off my profile, and was about to head for the door when Alex emerged quietly from his room. "Going somewhere?" He muttered, clearly not a morning person. I responded with a quick uneasy smile. "Yeah... To follow your advice- consuming people, and to have a run around... I might be awhile..." I rubbed my arms uneasily at the thought of eating people, but it was something I would have to adapt to- it was my lifestyle now. He nodded, clearly satisfied with my answer. "Don't attract any attention while you're gone. Blackwatch are packing new gear at the minute and I don't want you to get killed because of it." I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture, mumbling a "yeah, yeah..." Before exiting the apartment via the front door (something Alex NEVER did).

To be honest, I didn't lie to Alex. I just told him half of what I was planning on doing. Consuming some infected wasn't top of my priority list, but it had to be done. I picked off any stray infected at the closest hive (being very careful as to not draw any Blackwatch activity), not wanting to take on an entire hoard by myself, and I made sure I was healthy enough to move around like a parkour maniac (Alex) before beginning my second activity of the day. Locating the ever mysterious Redlight-Resistance.

Finding graffiti in a city is very easy, usually you just turn around and it's there, glaring at you with a neon coloured attitude problem, but when you are actively looking for it, it seems to vanish- and ceases to exist at the drop of a hat. Since I was actively looking for it, it made my life a living nightmare, since I needed to find some or I would never be able to find that damn group. I think I must of spent a good half hour running across the city before I found my first solid piece of evidence.

There was a group of people wearing bandanas and hoodies in the street below me, being rather loud and rowdy with each other but quieting down whenever a civilian walked past, which gave me a reason to suspect them. They stayed there for quite awhile, before other people began to join their group, and then they started walking somewhere. My heart fluttered in hope as I followed them, have I finally found what I was looking for?

I stalked them closely for a few blocks, using the rooftops to make sure I as unseen, but I had to duck behind some kind of fan thing on the roof when a helicopter with GUNS flew by. The sound the blades made as it hovered around for a moment terrified me- had it seen me duck down? Seemingly finding nothing of danger or interest, it flew off just as quickly as it had descended. Sighing in relief, I checked to see if the people were still there. I only just caught a glimpse of one walking into an alleyway- glancing cautiously around before following the rest of their group. Grinning to myself in silent victory, I waited a few moments before deciding to jump down in the alleyway opposite and follow them.

That was until I discovered there was nothing here except a dead end. Literally. There was graffiti on the very back wall of the Blackwatch soldier, but nothing else gave me a clue as to where they had gone. They vanished into thin air within a matter of seconds- how was that even possible?

I felt around the wall for something that might be a trigger for a trap door, but there was nothing. Not even a loose brick. I growled, and stamped my foot in irritation. I had been so god damn close to finding them and possibly forming a very useful alliance, and maybe even gaining a new way to spend my time instead of being stuck inside the apartment all day. If Alex and Dana approved that was...

The little stamp I did revealed that the slab of concrete I had stood on was actually loose, and it lifted up just enough for someone to pry the slab up, the cement around it long since broken and decayed. I grinned, mentally complimenting whoever did this for their genius ness. No one ever thinks to check the floor! Kneeling down I lifted the slab up with ease (prototype powers had their perks), and underneath lay a ladder leading straight down into god knows where. Hopefully it was the Redlight-Resistance's base... If it wasn't I just walked/climbed into some kind of strange nest of people.

I slid the slab back into place as I climbed down on the ladder, the metal supporting me feeling very cold and surprisingly smooth to the touch, I was expecting it to be rusty. I climbed down part of the very long ladder, fully expecting for people to be waiting at the bottom, and by the sound of the chattering and laughs, people were. I weighed out my options carefully- if I climbed down it pretty much gave them the opportunity to kill me very easily if they decided to attack, however if I appeared suddenly and without warning I could catch them all off guard and try to reason with them before any unintentional violence occurred.

I sighed, knowing the latter was definitely the best thing to do since any minute now they would leave to wherever their base is and I would be lost in this network of tunnels and sewers. I let go of the ladder and began falling downwards, and briefly I wondered if this was a good idea since I didn't know howling the drop would be. My fear was quickly put to rest however, when the concrete quickly came up to meet me. I landed in a crouch with a resounding crunch, almost like I was kneeling to pledge my loyalty to someone, but my fist was firmly planted into the ground.

Guns were immediately pointed in my direction by the sound of faint clicks and the groans of fingers gently squeezing the trigger. I smiled, not looking up just yet- guns were not going to do much right now, not against me. If I played my cards right, I could persuade them to take me to their 'boss', and if I didn't and they shot me, I could play dead, let them walk on to their headquarters and I would still follow them. Either way, I was in a win-win situation, but if possible I'd prefer not to get shot. I wasn't a masochist.

"Put the guns down, I'm not here to fight, actually quite the opposite." I spoke up, still not showing my face from under my hood. I stood up, the hood I wore concealing my eyes and any revealing details of my face- I imagine I probably looked pretty intimidating right now, and that helped inflate my pride just a little bit. One of the people in the middle raised their gun higher, level with my head, and spoke in a distinctly male tone of voice. "Who are you, and how did you find this place? You aren't one of us!"

"I don't want to disclose my name until I'm sure you are who I'm looking for. Are you the Redlight-Resistance?" I asked quite bluntly, wanting to hurry up and talk to the head dog here. The tensing and the quiet murmurs that ran through the group was enough to confirm my suspicions, but the man answered anyway after raising a hand to silence them. "Yes, now answer my questions." "My name, is Joanne. I need to speak with whoever leads you urgently." I didn't lie, they asked for my name, and I gave them my maiden name. I felt quite clever with my own wit. "You didn't answer my second question." "Because that's the reason why I'm here, if I can find you people with minimal searching- you can sure as hell bet that Blackwatch can find you. Now it's my turn to demand something. Take me to your god damn leader- pretty please?" My tone was laced with pure sarcasm, and apparently it didn't go down well with them.

"Do you really think you can waltz in here unarmed, demand we take you to our leader, and us actually comply? Are you fucking stupid?" So they thought I was unarmed? That was helpful, they didn't suspect I was Blackwatch at the very least. "Not stupid, just hoping that my unarmed state would show you that I have no interest in fighting. However if you are going to get nasty I-"

I was cut off my someone next to the person I was talking to raising their pistol and firing a shot at me, hitting the middle of my forehead which was hidden under my hood. Well this took a turn for the worst... I collapsed to the floor like a normal human would and tried to hold off my regeneration abilities until they were gone- trying to restrain regeneration was like trying to stop breathing, blinking, and thinking about anything. Nearly impossible. My nature made it impossible, since my DNA was written to constantly heal and remake itself at a moments notice. I had to practically play dead for them, in summary.

"Fuck- Anders, why'd you do that?!" The man I was talking to panicked. "S-sorry! They- she was going to threaten us..." A gentler and softer tone spoke out, but it was still definitely a guy. I silently prayed I hadn't twitched or started breathing again to spark their suspicion. The first man swore again and they quickly debated what to to do with my body, I guess I would have to follow them after all, I grumbled somewhere in the remaining part of my brain. Tendrils threatened to blow my cover and I had to really strain to force them back into my body, and while I was in all of this peril, I silently wondered what Alex was up to while all this was going on- probably something much safer than the situation I had gotten myself into...

_(P.O.V. CHANGE)_

Today was not a good day for Captain Cross at all, and it was all because of that bastard General, Randall. It had begun with being set a small assignment with the Wisemen team to transport a group of tanks across the city take care of a hive that had been more active than the rest of the hives surrounding it- producing numerous hunters and hundreds of walkers which fought to the bloody end to protect their hellish home. Cross had come very close to losing 3 of his men when a two copperheads had emerged from the ground nearby and begun chucking debris at the tanks they had been dispatched in. They had received air support in the very nick of time.

It only got worse when he got his ass chewed out by said general, which he had to respectfully endure and hold his tongue- despite having done nothing notably wrong. Then he had overheard General Randall and Taggart arguing in the general's office not two hours later- which really screwed up his day, and it took a god damn lot to piss off Cross. Taggart was the loudest at first, clearly against what the general had previously stated.

"All of this, everything here. We've been preparing to fight the wrong war ! We can't beat this. We need to pull out and deal with it at a distance!"

"Taggart. I put you in charge because I trust you to do what needs to be done: cut the heart out of the infection."

"Sir ! The position is in-tenable. These... things... they're beyond our abilities..."

"I don't want to hear one more excuse from you! You get your ass back into the field and get it done! Or don't come back."

Cross hid himself in the shadows surrounding the door before Taggart stormed out of the room, looking like someone had pissed in his breakfast, and the General wasn't far behind, most likely off to do their 'respective duties'. Cross knew they both had no sense of respect in this fight, and were both as ruthless as the other when it came to survival, so this brought up the question- what were they arguing about? He knew it was about this god damned shithole Mercer had created, but the details could be anything. 'Dealing with it at a distance', also hit a particular note of deja vu making him think back to the instance of Hope, Idaho.

Knowing that he could be killed for the action he was about to commit under the act of treason, insubordination, and possibly many other things, he prayed the door open and stepped inside, making sure the coast was clear before he entered the office. As usual it was a god damn mess, the poster showing the main areas of the infection hung openly above the place Randell usually sat. Various files were scattered across the General's desk, all of which if leaked, would spell disaster in some way or another, and death for the person who leaked them to the general public. Two files in particular though, stood out from the rest.

One was vastly larger than the rest, the poor excuse of a folder barely managing to contain the contents that had been forced inside, and various pieces of paper popped out at random intervals. The stamp and writing on the very front of the folder though, explained exactly why Hope Idaho had sprung so readily to mind. It was a folder giving permission to use nuclear warheads to eradicate the virus, and any infected within the city bounds.

He knew the General was hiding something from him, but this was fucking insane, nuking an entire city? The civilian casualties would be sky high- higher than Idaho could ever of been even if the disease had been left to fester there for years on end, untouched by humanity. Only two survivors had come back from that city too, and those had been the cause of the second outbreak here in Manhattan, one being released by Mercer. The other... Well, that was beyond classified information, of even his rank.

Having discovered the dirty little secret the general had seen fit not to inform Cross on, a decision had formed in his mind. The only possible way to stop another city turning to dust, would be to contact the very person he had tried to destroy not two weeks ago. He made a mental note to buy new phones later on.

The second folder was a complete contrast to the first, being incredibly thin yet still being branded 'TOP SECRET'. The file was on something that had been codenamed: HERA, and was apparently deemed as an almost equal threat to Alex Mercer. He soon discovered why, a feeling of dread forming at the pit of his stomach. HERA was another Blacklight host having been recently created about a week ago by the absolute lunatics at Gentek. The scientists involved had apparently been murdered shortly after conducting an experiment on HERA, and details of what had happened were pitifully few. The only details in the file were that the test subject was female, was of English origin, and was no longer in Blackwatch or Gentek custody, along with the reason she had been infected was because of her completely unique DNA. Any other details such as age, appearance, and personality were missing altogether.

A deep grimace overcame Cross's face. He was completely in the dark here, and so was the rest of Blackwatch. He didn't like this one bit- if she decided to work together with Greene, the city and possibly the rest of the world, was completely fucked. Placing the folder down, he exited the office with due haste, a thousand things whirling around his head. Having to cooperate with Alex Mercer was one thing, but having another rogue prototype running around the city with next to no information on her- that was another shitstorm altogether.

'Keep it together Cross,' he thought to himself grimly as he strolled through the corridors which looked like they had been copied and pasted over and over in different directions, 'focus on one threat at a time. Making this infection manageable comes first. Then we deal with the damn rogue prototype.'

_THERE! GOD DAMN THAT TOOK FOREVER! ...Sorry, I just had to restart various parts of this chapter 3 times, and for the most part I am satisfied. It was an awful lot of grinding to get this chapter done, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!_

_Also, I have definitely decided I am going to do a sequel to this story the way I think Prototype 2 should of been. No heller, no death of Alex, and certainly no evil Alex infecting everyone in NYC. It will be MY version, the way it SHOULD of been. I think you all will enjoy it greatly :P_


	27. Corpse disposal must be a terrible job

_yaaaaay! Another chapter done, and I must say this story is developing pretty nicely, though at some point I will go through it and hunt down any mistakes and confusing sentences I have somehow put in there. Also you really must go check out the deviantART account associated with this fan , it shows all of the art mentioned and even has a few extras. The propaganda posters and graffiti Alison finds all over the place seem to be really popular. Anyway, on with the show! Enjoy!_

"C'mon. Leave the body here, we'll need to notify the boss about this, and your slip up Anders," the man spoke with a irritated tone. The group moved on, leaving my supposed corpse to rot in the same place it had fell after being shot square in the forehead. After repressing the urge for so long, I finally let the wound in my head regenerate, the familiar swirl of tendrils rushing to repair what damage had been wrought. I silently cursed, then stood up. That grunt who shot me would be sure to get theirs later- but first I had to start following them, the sound of their footsteps were already fading into the distance.

There were plenty of shadows for my to hide behind, and the darkness of my clothes (I wore practically ALL black) really helped me blend in. The sewers or wherever the hell we were, were surprisingly clean and tidy, and didn't stink at all. It made me wonder- were these built by the people that now currently used them? The group of hooded people didn't travel very far, at most it was about a two minute walk of going through many twists and turns in a concrete labyrinth (which somehow received natural light despite being underground), before we arrived at an almost completely unnoticeable door.

No wonder these people were so hard to pin down without help- they travelled underground! They could get anywhere they wanted, and not have to worry about the Blackwatch threat. This explained so much... The one I had spoken to first knocked on the 'door' firmly, and a small hatch opened. "Who watches the Blackwatch?" Was the question asked, and I had to strain to hear the answer as it was so quiet. "Squad leader Rico and 5 recruits watch the Blackwatch with an unforgiving eye."

I did a quick headcount and I noticed that there were only 4 recruits with him, he had slipped up! This gave me an ideal chance to follow them inside... The person at the door opened it up and welcomed them back, glancing around to check there were no other people around before closing it again. I waited a minute before walking quietly over to the door I had seen them enter previously.

I knocked, hoping that my plan would work. The hatch opened just as it did with 'Rico' and asked me the same question. "Who watches the Blackwatch?" "Squad leader Rico's 5th recruit watches the Blackwatch with an unforgiving eye," I replied, hoping that the person had paid attention to how many people had entered. I pulled my hood further down and the door swung open, a very tall looking man guarding the door. I discreetly took a step backwards. He laughed and patted my head which was still under my hood.

"Welcome! I was wondering when the 5th one would be along! You'll have to get used to walking at such a fast pace my friend, you'll fall behind everyone otherwise!" He smiled at me in a good nature from what I could see under my hood. I got the slight feeling this was more than just a lucky break... I apologised to the man, bowing my head. "Sorry... Being new and all... It's just a shock to the system, that's all." I tried to sound convincing, and apparently my lie worked. "It's alright, now, come inside. There is much to learn and talk about."

We both entered, and I was surprised at how high spec this base looked. The floor was clean, the walls were decorated with artwork and propaganda posters which the group had most likely made, and various doorways in the room apparently lead to different places. People were constantly moving from place to place, carrying things like paper, laptops, or coffee which for some reason I found immensely amusing, and not a single person was wasting time. Everybody was doing something of use.

I was snapped out of my stupor by the person who had opened the door for me. "You may want to go see the leader to be properly registered with the R.R, to avoid confusion and any infiltrators, you see." I nodded, and he pointed me in the right directions. "Just take the door on your left, that will lead to the canteen. From there, take a right and you'll end up in the tactician's room, which is where our boss usually spends all of their time. If they aren't there, just ask around. You'll find her eventually," he added kindly, clearly used to meeting a lot of new people. I thanked him again and followed the instructions given to me.

Taking a left did indeed take me to the canteen, and there were more people here than I expected. At least 50 people were here, and that barely filled up a quarter of the room, and they were all talking and joking with each other over their food which didn't look too bad. Most of the people here were also men (or rather, young adults/teenagers), the women choosing to sit on their own apart from their opposites. Everyone wore some kind of jacket or black hoodie (the occasional person wearing a bandana) which upon further inspection had a white band on one arm. I mused to myself if that was to honour something or someone, before going to take a right to the 'tactician's room'.

I was slightly taken aback by how impressive everything was when I opened the door to the room. There were desks with computers on almost everywhere you turned, people were frequently moving to get the information they needed, and the walls were littered with maps that had strings running from one part of the city to the next, notes dangling off of pins keeping the strings there in the first place. These people looked slightly different to the rest, having a more casual appearance but still managing to look like they were part of something bigger than themselves- something hard to do in my opinion. Chatter was resounding in the room, and I had quite a hard time picking out the conversation I needed to hear, 'squad leader Rico's' conversation with the boss.

I turned towards where the conversation was taking place, and it was at the very back of the room. A single desk stood taller than everyone else's, files and paper littering it like the others but the difference was these files looked important. A single computer monitor glared harshly at the two people who were currently debating about the new recruit's brash and rather stupid actions (in other words, telling him off since he shot someone in the head, that someone being me).

I strained to listen to their conversation, avoiding passing people as I tried to blend in. "...We were consulted by a stranger in the sewer. They jumped off the ladder like a maniac and then claimed that if they could find us, then Blackwatch sure as hell could. After threats, the recruit Anders here then proceeded to shoot the person in the forehead." I watched intently as I pretended to read a map they had strung up with hundreds of others. "...I see. And what was done with the corpse?" I couldn't see the boss from where I was standing, so I moved towards the centre of the room, but the damn monitor blocked my view. "It's still where it was shot down. I'll send a clean up team to get rid of it." A quiet grunt of satisfaction was given and I saw Rico be dismissed from his boss's company. He nodded politely and walked out of the room, passing RIGHT by me. I could of sworn he glanced at me from under his hood as he passed, a small smirk crossing over his face...

'I must of been seeing things', I thought to myself as I slowly made my way towards the leader's desk, the familiar feeling of adrenaline causing butterflies in my stomach. I reached the desk much faster than I would of liked, and was slightly taken aback by the fact that the leader didn't even acknowledge my presence until I spoke up to them, mindful of my tone. "You know, you should probably get better security..." Their head snapped up and they turned to face me, their face under their hood revealing nothing. "Who are you? I don't recognise you and I remember everyone who comes to see me." They spoke quietly, their tone of voice making it very hard to tell me if they were a guy or a girl.

"That depends on a few things. But right now I'm someone who you really need to listen to, since I managed to practically waltz past security, everyone here, and come straight to you." I wasn't sure what their reaction would be, and I didn't like the fact that they had a handgun poking out of all the papers on the desk but apparently I had done something right. She stood up, and shouted at everyone- which was certainly not what I expected. "Alright! Everyone get out for a moment! I need to talk in private with this person here." A mass of hooded people looked up in confusion for a second, baffled as to why their boss needed complete privacy, but they shuffled along anyway, everyone complying to the demand so rudely made.

The moment the door slammed I was forced into a chair next to their desk and the handgun that was previously buried was now pointed at my face. "Ok, don't bullshit me- who the fuck are you, and how in hells blazes did you get here." For a brief moment I went blank, nothing registering in my mind until the pistol was pressed right against my head, he cool metal against my forehead snapping me to my senses. "My name right now isn't important. Your the leader of the Redlight-Resistance right?"

The gun pressed a fraction harder against my head. "You weren't very hard to track down for someone who should damn well be. All it took was a few searches in the deep webs and I found footage of your 'gang' using the alleyway entries. You should be more careful, that's how I found this place. All it took was one slip up by a certain squad leader, and I was in to your whole base. I was even given directions to this room by the kind person on the door who thought I was the squad leader's 5th recruit whom had lagged behind a little." The pistol gradually moved away from my head, and I was given some breathing room, although only a fraction.

"And you came to me for what- to threaten me? In case you haven't noticed, I have a gun, and you are unarmed." They pointed out, waving the weapon precariously at me. "I'm not here to make threats, I'm here to warn you. If I can figure out how to get in here- you can be damn sure those Blackwatch scumbags will find out too, it's just a matter of time. I also came here to create an alliance. I have connections with people you could really use on your side-" "Who? I want names." "I have just one. But it's all you'll need." A hand grabbed at my throat, and under their hood a glare could be seen through the darkness. "Who?"

"ZEUS, quite simply," I paused, noting their taken aback gasp. "That's who you honour with the white bands on your arms right? The drive behind this resistance?" "How did you get connections to Alex Mercer? We've been trying to contact him since this whole thing was formed!" I let a small smug smile slip out onto my face, clearly enjoying the power shift here. "You've been doing it in the wrong way, though I admire your efforts. Mercer is only interested in people when they have information to offer to help topple Gentek or Blackwatch- the way I see it, you know about as much about either group as an average civilian. You should devote your researchers into discovering the past and present members of the groups, and maybe then, you'll turn up results, instead of trying to combat just small groups of Blackwatch troops for various reasons."

they were quiet for a moment, before they finally set down their pistol and pulled down their hood. I was almost shocked out of my smugness by the appearance of the ever elusive 'leader'. 'They' turned out to be a 'she', with almost toxic green eyes. Her hair was short, punk like, and her side fringe was dyed a kind of blue/purple colour, and her lip piercing really stood out in the current light. She looked about 19, possibly 20 if you strained it- and was the very definition of a rebellious teenager or young adult. Everything about her just screamed punk, and the harsh eyeliner and dark eyeshadow she wore only heightened that. A tattoo of an ace peeped out from the edge of the hoodie, making her look all the more badass.

"How do you know all of this? And you never answered my question from before." She sighed, clearly done threatening me with her gun. I felt rightfully relieved. "For a start, I have connections because he happened to save me from Blackwatch a while back, numerous times actually. Then something happened to force me to actively communicate with him on a regular basis," her face practically lit up at the mention of talking to Alex everyday, it made me wonder, had something happened with her too to start all of this? "Who else do you have connections with?" She pressed, clearly not done interrogating me. I felt like I was spilling secrets of my crush to a high school friend...

"You know, I'm not going to tell you everything. I want some information back too. Like your name, whether your going to shoot me or not, should I be running away right now..." I trailed off, giving her a look which clearly stated that she would get nothing else until we reached a compromise. She sighed again, making me think she had a habit of doing such a thing and started talking. "My name, is Roxxanne Dakota. But most people here call me Boss. No, I'm not going to shoot you and no you shouldn't be running away since apparently your exactly what we need right now." "And that would be...?" "A way to talk to the person who was the origin of this group. We can help, but we need to know how."

I relaxed in the chair, finally getting results. "That's what I needed to hear." A curious look passed over Roxxanne's face as she looked at me. "I was just wondering, do you know HERA as well?" "HERA?" I asked, trying my best not to give myself away. It was weird talking about myself this way to another person. Her eyes looked strangely older than she was as she explained. "I guess you don't know yet. HERA is another person like Alex Mercer, created by Gentek apparently to be their personal weapon or something to combat Redlight. Pretty much in effect becoming their little puppet. No one quite knows where she is, what she looks like, or what side she is on, which complicates a few things but people here have high hopes she will join us. We look up to Mercer, and maybe we can look up to her too."

I felt a mixture of emotions right about now, unsure of which to express. Part of me felt relieved and happy no one knew about me just yet, a different part of me felt slightly disappointed no one yet knew of me or even knew what I looked like- and another part felt prideful I carried the hopes of such a group of people. "How do you know all this?" I asked carefully, watching for any kind of reaction, which I never got. "Despite what you think, we know a little bit more about Blackwatch than the 'average civilian' would know. Enough to tap into radio frequencies, steal their tech and documents, and various other activities." Roxxanne smiled at me in a mischievous way, and I couldn't help but laugh. I pulled out my phone after a brief "hang on," and answered the call that was apparently from Alex. Didn't he just have the best of timings?

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"Well you see... I'm currently in the middle of something-"

"Drop whatever it is you are doing then, I'm going to need your help with 'something' else." He drawled back, clearly not in a good mood which meant any arguing back I would regret later. I chose not to argue.

"...Where do you want me to meet you..." I sighed, trying to refrain from calling him Alex over the phone with others listening.

"Meet me outside of the apartment, I have information we can't pass up."

"Information from who exactly? And just so you know, it'll take me a little while to get to the apartment. I'm not exactly in an open space right now..."

"It doesn't matter right now. Just be here as soon as possible, see you then."

"See you-" he hung up before I could finish my last sentence.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and pulled up the number on my phone for Roxxanne to see. "Sorry about that but I have to make this quick. My connections are waiting. Here is my number, text me if you find something important you need to tell Alex. And if we need to meet up- I know where to find you," I grinned, to which she returned the favour. "Yeah, next time try not to cause such a fuss. My people will be wondering who the hell you are now- which reminds me, you never did tell me your name..." She had written down my number and I was already walking to the door by the time she asked me for my name again. I just turned around and smirked.

"Find something good for me first, then i'll tell you who I am."

_i'm a little sad now since I just learnt my pet chinchilla broke it's leg this morning and it had to be put dofeel my best friend is haven't a really bad time at the minute too- and there isn't anything I can do either... All's I can do is continue going my own path I suppose. I feel terrible not being able to help with anything, but such is life. I'll be carrying on with this as best I can so stay tuned!_


	28. I'm in a TANK

_I am really sorry for the massive delay, but so much has happened in such a short amount of time. After my pet chinchilla broke it's leg and had to be out down, I went on a lot of walks to clear my head and visited my best friend a lot. She got me into a new band called Black Veil Brides, and we ended up making an entire art project for them. It took about 4 and a half days to complete, and it took my mind off my loss. We even went on a parade around village I live in, and it was so much fun. Then my older brother caused a huge family argument and even a small fight with my stepmother. A glass was thrown and I had to break everything up before it got really violent, and I was really scared when it happened but I managed to somehow do it. I've never sworn at my stepmother, or seen her break doesn't like that, but it happened After all that, I've also had a case of writers block, so i've been trying to write boots of this chapter each day_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)_

"Your late." Alex stated in a monotone without turning away from the chaotic view of the city. I simply glared in response. "You said be here as soon as possible, and I am. I can't be late when you gave no specified time..." I trailed off when he turned to finally look at me. "It doesn't matter. We have more important things right now. Blackwatch are planning on pumping a gas toxic to anything infected underground to drive out the person we have a vendetta with. For awhile, we are going to make sure their plan succeeds-" "then I'm guessing we swoop in and finish the job before they can recapture Greene again?" I elaborated with hand gestures and he nodded in confirmation much to my dismay.

I felt a little uneasy at the prospect of facing Elizabeth Greene again, especially as she tried to completely take over my mind forcefully when my views didn't align with hers. I shivered at the thought and Alex didn't miss it either. "Scared?" I forced out a half smile, in an attempt to enforce my point. "No. Not scared, just apprehensive..." He didn't ask any further questions, but rather told me to keep up as he leapt off the side of the building to the next. I sighed, knowing that today would indeed, be a very long day.

We leapt from rooftop to rooftop along side each other, almost completely silent, which gave me time to collect my thoughts. What if Greene tried to take over my mind again? I don't think I'd be able to resist her this time, I don't even know how I resisted her last time... If I had to guess I would put my money on it being a one time thing. What was concerning me more was if Greene tried to take over Alex, I didn't exactly fancy my chances against him considering he was much more experienced than I am, and plus he was the closest thing I had to a best friend right now. If I lost him, or Dana... I don't know what i'd do, I'll be honest. Too soon for my liking, we arrived at the central base of all Blackwatch activity, where this chemical weapon was meant to be.

Perched upon a building some distance away front he actual base, we examined it closely. "We'll need to consume a Blackwatch officer and take their form to get inside." Mercer mumbled in his deep voice, making me slightly worried by the lack or remorse in his voice. "'Take their form'?" I asked, clearly unsure as to what he meant. "Manipulate the cells in your body to become them, almost literally. It's one of our most powerful abilities, and the most useful in situations we are about to enter. Though to use it, you'll have to consume someone..." He looked at me carefully, unsure as to whether I would be up to the task. "I'll do it. It's for a greater cause, right?"

He didn't answer me, but we both jumped down into the alleyway just next to us, and joined the general public. It didn't take long for us to find a squadron of soldiers, and immediately Alex walked forwards, snapped a marine's neck without the others noticing, and within seconds had consumed the man and obtained his identity. Judging by how flawlessly Alex had pulled that off, he must of picked off many others in a similar fashion. I shivered once again, glad that I could never share the same fate. I picked the one on the right to which the other guy had stopped paying attention to for a brief moment. I saw my window of opportunity and mimicked Mercer whom was pacing behind me now, snapping the man's neck quickly to cause no noise, and then consumed him swiftly. The tendrils made short work of him, eagerly filing away his DNA and changing mine to match his own. Within mere moments, I had become Lucas Santenez, Blackwatch marine and a complete inconsiderate asshole to the new recruits Blackwatch had recently gained. I grimaced at the rush of memories, but the mask covered my facial expression- being a man was exactly what I thought it would be like...

"Santenez, I asked how do you think this operation is going to go?" A voice next to me snapped me out of my daze and I immediately donned the attitude of the asshole I had just consumed, I was quite proud and at the same time disgusted with how well I managed to capture his character. "I tell ya' it's going to fucking fail. If the god damn copperheads don't get those trucks, I can almost fuckin' guarantee ZEUS will come by and smash up the joint." The 'marine' behind me laughed and I knew Alex was laughing because he wished he could do such a thing, and at how ironic what I just said was. Eventually we returned to base, and it turned out we were part of the team protecting the chemical trucks which was waiting right at the very front of the base. "Hur-fuckin-ray..." I mumbled in character, and the 'marine' Christian, told me to hurry the fuck up and get in the damn tank. It was a good thing that Lucas Santenez used to know how to drive one of these monsters, huh?

Christian, or Alex, jumped into the tank first- and dear god I do not want to know what happened to the people who were previously inside this tank. Yells caught the attention of the marines on foot and they came over to ask what was going on. "Christian thought it'd be fuckin funny if he jumped inside. He landed funny on his ankle, is all." I had to restrain the urge to apologise, I usually did if something like this happened but that would be so out of character it's unbelievable. A brief "fuck you Santanez," was heard from inside, and thankfully they accepted the excuse. "Hurry up then. We have about a minute before we move out." I climbed inside and was a little overwhelmed at the amount of machinery inside one of these things. Was I seriously expected to manoeuvre this in the middle of a serious firefight?

"Use your tendrils to operate that side of the tank," the person I shared the hunk of machinery with explained. "It usually takes 5 people to properly use one, but thankfully we only need ourselves, and the tendrils we can summon on a moments notice." I grimaced again at his obvious enthusiasm, and did exactly as he said. We both emitted a vast amount of stubby looking tendrils to work every piece of crap in here. It was a pretty funny sight now that I think of it, thousands of 'wires' that pluses red and black covering the entire space of the tank, constantly moving to operate this thing. What surprised me though, was the fact that I actually KNEW how to operate a TANK. A FUCKING TANK.

The whole convoy soon set off, and I didn't have much time to appreciate how badass this was before we encountered our first set of hostiles. "Aim for the hunters first, and rotate the main cannon 45 degrees anti-clockwise," Alex stated and pressing a variety of buttons and pulling levers, I did just that. I felt the whole tank vibrate as Alex started using the main gun, and I felt slightly disappointed that I couldn't see what was exactly what was going on. "Use the visor then you idiot," He deadpanned, to which I mentally facepalmed. Of course I forget about the thing sitting right in front of my face... I pulled it down and I finally got to watch the pyrotechnics taking place outside of my armoured carrier. Bodies were exploding everywhere or being gunned down, infected and unlucky civilians alike, but apparently we went anywhere near where we needed to be yet either. I felt actually useful for once as Mercer and I worked together to effectively stop any infected that came anywhere near that damn chemical truck, and we were doing a pretty damn good job as well until a fucking copperhead appeared. It tunnelled it's way out of the ground, and it's head which more closely resembled a pair of scissors gaped its gigantic maw at us before proceeding to hurl a particularly large chunk of pavement at us.

"Fire upwards at about 110 degrees, main cannon," I stated, and thankfully Alex obliged, blasting the chunk of pavement apart before it could do any serious damage. "Nice shot Lopez!" Filtered through over the radio, and I blanked out for a moment. Who was Lopez? It must of been one of the men in the tank to begin with, since Alex answered with a "better than anything you could and ever will do." The convoy took a detour away from the copperhead which Alex was now firing at, and was now using the long way to Times Square, which was a lot more bumpy than I imagined. Most likely because we were driving through large hoards of the infected, and the roads near any kind of hive weren't exactly in the best condition anymore.

The constant groaning and clunking of the tank was really getting on my nerves as we proceeded to our objective, keeping a close distance to the chemical truck we had to 'bodyguard', since the rest of the military was absolutely useless. Alex was apparently unaffected, so I guess he had to spend a lot of his time in one of these godforsaken tin cans. Driving one was cool, getting deafened by one, however was not. Plenty of hunters came at us during our trip, all of which didn't get within 10 ft of the truck, and were dispatched with quickly. One hunter though, managed to get through the line of defence because some other fucking idiot wanted some glory for himself and decided to drive right in front of our tank, blocking our view of the damn hunter.

"Somebody shoot that thing! We can't lose this otherwise our whole operation is screwed!" The man in the tank cried after the hunter had managed to avoid every shell the fucking idiot fired. I decided to vent a little bit, even if I did have to do it in character. "I would do if you GOT THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY SIMMONS! You drove right in front of our fucking tank you fucking asshole! Are you trying to screw us all over?" A slight chuckle came from the direction of Mercer but I decided to pay him no heed. The radio went silent after that pretty much and the idiot in front of us got the point and moved his ass out of the way. The hunter was rapidly dispatched after that. We finally arrived at the site we were meant to set up the chemical pump, and now our next task was protecting the god damn scientists as they got the pump working. "Is it always like this?" I queried, and Alex laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "Pretty much. Get ready to deal with the incoming infected, 'Santanez'." I snorted in a less than lady like manner, and continued working the tank along side him. Secretly though, I was glad he was in such a good mood, it was rare he was like this.

Over the radio, we heard commentary from the scientists outside and the soldiers who had been assigned to help them, and I ever so slightly felt sorry for them. Having to deal with marines like these must be a job in of itself, never mind setting up a chemical pump in the middle of an infected city in the middle of a fire fight. For about a minute or so, we kept the infected at bay, nothing was breaking through our barrier of tank shells and guns. However then a leader hunter joined the fray with multiple lesser ones, which looked pretty much set on tearing up anything in their way. "Fuuuuuuuuck..." I muttered as they almost completely decimated one of the tanks closest to them, shrapnel and blood firing everywhere and then deciding to come in our direction. "Alex..." "I know," he told me has he aimed the cannon towards the three incoming hunters. "Alex!" "I know!" The cannon was too slow in turning around, they were going to reach us before we could even fire the first shot at them! Before I knew what I was actually doing, I had retracted all of my tendrils which were operating the tank along side Mercer's, had forced open the hatch, completely abandoned my disguise, and had fully formed my blade arm, which looked like it was a Japanese samurai sword.

For a brief moment, everything had been thrown off. The hunters had stopped dead to stare, Blackwatch had paused to check who it was, and even the scientists had stopped what they were doing to see what was going on- which I broke by letting out an almighty battle cry and charging straight for the leader hunter. Break the chain of command, the lesser hunters should be less dangerous right? My logic was sound, however killing the damn hunter was going to be the hard part. "Fuck! It's HERA! Kill it!" Ah, Blackwatch had finally regained it's senses too, but was too occupied with the other hunters to actually shoot at me.

I think Alex was trying to lend me a hand too, or kill me, since before I could actually reach the leader hunter, he had sent two rounds of tank shells straight at it. Then I did reach it, it was an all out battle in who was the fastest, and who could deal the most damage before falling. I was definitely faster, managing to almost dance around the big lumbering thing, which seemed to irritate it greatly. However, being faster also meant I couldn't deal as much damage like Alex did, if that thing even got one hit on me, I'd be in quite a spot of bother. I watched it closely, as an eagle would its prey, and memorised it's attack patterns. It often clawed at me, and even tried to grab me on occasion- which it almost came close to doing more than once, but I was much faster, so I just managed to escape it's clutches. I was wondering why the other hunters hadn't joined in at this point, it probably demanded that the others didn't join in, or they were disobeying orders...

Rolling to the side to avoid another furious attack, I decided it was time for me to go on the offence. Butterflies formed in my stomach as a literally launched myself at it, blade poised to take out a good deal of it's neck which I somehow managed to do. However, I was now stuck- since my blade wouldn't actually slice through the flesh it was buried in. "Oh no..." Enraged from my brash and most likely foolish attack, it clawed at the place my arm was still embedded into. I had to leap onto it's back and punch downwards with my other arm to avoid having my entire arm snapped off with it's claws and constant movement. With a great pull/punch, my arm came free with a large 'slosh' of blood and small segments of flesh still clinging to the edges of the blade's metal. Leaping away, I had to think fast. The scientists had managed to get the pump working by the sound of it, and if everything went according to plan, Greene would be here and I did not want this damn thing at her side when she made her entry.

I ran around, keeping the leader hunter at a distance until I thought something, to weaken it with just enough so I could deal some real damage. My blade wasn't going to get very much done, it was designed for lesser hunters and infected. I guess I'll have to use my new mutation... My whole right arm began shifting into something that resembled a heavily fortified rose stem, with Japanese senbons (double sided combat needles) for fingers and a thumb which looked like they were made out of the same hardened metallic substance as my blade arm. Alex was the first one to see they weren't just for decoration, however I never got to use my new arm. The ground surrounding everyone began to shake, and the scientists were now running for cover from what I could see. My stomach suddenly dropped, as I knew exactly what that meant. I'm not sure why I yelled to everyone to take cover, or that Greene was coming. I probably was directing it to Alex, but at the same time, a part of me didn't want anyone else to get hurt either- regardless if they were Blackwatch or not. With an almighty screech, what looked like giant worms or copperheads erupted from the ground, spraying rubble and debris everywhere over the tanks and soldiers which were unlucky enough to be in the shower of death. Screams of terror from fully grown men wasn't something you heard often- and in a situation like this, it really demoralises everyone around you. It wasn't hard to see who had caused all of this terror, and she was revelling in the fear she evoked. Elizabeth Greene, had made her appearance, and Alex, was not far behind.

Bleh... I struggled writing this but oh well. I managed to get it done, and I am extremely sorry for the delay again. I'll try and work on pulling together the next chapter and myself. A hope you liked it!


	29. My mother is possessive

_Ooooooh my god... This chapter was the BIGGEST pain in the ass to write- I just had so many blocks typing it out and so much lack of inspiration. But like I promised, chapter 29, just before the deadline of a week ahead come and gone! Haha! Anyway, here you all go, I'll try my absolutely best to put out the next chapter! Also, I would like you to leave questions you would want to ask Alex, Dana or Alison in the reviews below for future chapters- it can be anything as long as it fits in with the story thus far! (Alison has a DeviantArt account/Email and everything so is he can answer questions) _

_Any bananas, have the next chapter! Thanks door waiting for so long!_

'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit... She's fucking HERE', was all that ran through my mind but something inside me told me to concentrate. 'Kill this leader hunter first, then see what you can do to assist Alex,' I thought to myself was I watched the god damn crazy fool leap out of the tank we were previously in with reckless abandon. I forced myself to look at the leader hunter and immediately had to dodge a vicious attack by flipping backwards- if I was going to use this arm, I had to gain some damn distance...

It was hard to gain some ground in the middle of a massive battle, everyone is firing at you more or less, people are screaming and you constantly have to watch your back otherwise you'll end up like one of the pathetic excuses for a soldier on the floor. I decided to use height to my advantage and I scaled a small building before anyone could blink- and I almost instantaneously let fly a barrage of needles which looked so incredibly sharp when they flew towards you, something Alex had experienced... They travelled with a shrill 'scree!' and with a wet noise they impacted into the hunter's side with quite some force, blood flying quite literally everywhere.

Still slightly weakened from the wounds it gained before, it came at me again but with more force, I was hard pressed to stay away from it's powerful maw and be able to continuously deal out damage. Shifting my arms constantly to keep moving and protect myself, I was pushed closer and closer towards the edge of the building I was constantly fighting upon. With a powerful bound it had knocked us both from the building and the sensation of free falling took over- I didn't have time to think as I shifted my arm back into a blade and with the power of fear and desperation driving my actions, I just acted by plunging it upwards to where it's face was as it tried with all of it's might to bite down upon me.

We hit the ground with quite the impact, my bones temporarily shattering but almost immediately reforming (being a Prototype had its perks), but that didn't mean I wasn't in absolute agony. I could taste blood in my mouth, I could practically smell death- and the reason why was because the leader hunter that had just dragged me off of a building now had a blade protruding from it's throat, and it's claws were lodged within my chest, but it was far too weak to finish me off while I had enough mass to do such a thing. I silently made a resolution to thank Alex later for convincing me to consume as I pried the claws from my chest with a massive amount of effort and watched as the creature slumped over almost dead as I ragged my blade from it's throat. Tendrils of it's own swirled around it's injuries and I realised what it was doing just in time. It was in the middle of a recovery period...

Grasping this opportunity (literally), I ignored the groans and fiery complaints of my body and launched tendrils into the soon-to-be corpse, dragging it towards me with a tremendous amount of strength. I had to use my blade to assist me as it's mass became my own in one giant rush. My strength returned to me in a hurry and I felt a huge rush to the head- I felt my entire emetic structure changing and re-writing itself and let me tell you, it HURTS when your body decides to undergo a massive change. I was on all fours gripping my head when the pain subsided, but I felt so much stronger now, like I could take on the world and still be able to do it all again.

That feeling quickly faded however when I was immediately confronted with a whole group of lesser hunters, 3 of them in total. I quickly leapt to my feet, ready to fight with one thought running through my head, 'mess with me, and you'll ALL end up like your god damned leader!' They didn't attack me though, which was weird. Beyond weird. They all stopped, staring at me with their tiny eyes on their skulls before they all in unison kind of kneeled. 'Are they trying to catch me off guard or pounce on me?'

They did neither. They all returned to their previous stances, giving me one last look like they were assessing me before charging off in the complete opposite direction... "What the fuck?" I asked out loud to no one particular before realising this was still a battle, I couldn't stand around when Alex was in danger! I got up on a building immediately to see if I could find him from there and it was pretty obvious where he was. He had just jumped up extremely high in the air (visible from quite some distance away), and was just about to jump into an all out battle with the one person I never wanted to meet again in my entire life. Not after she tried to god damn mind rape me, but I had no choice. Alex needed me, whether he was going to admit it or not.

I followed the trail of destruction and worked on forming a larger blade while I ran, my arm wasn't exactly the most useful thing in the world when you were fighting an enemy like Elizabeth Greene. I could already see the writhing tendrils that surrounded Greene, each of them trying to swat away all that came too close, like they were trying to protect something important... Hey... Wait a second...

"Alex!" I screamed out as he was knocked back a second time by the masses of flesh protecting the centre. He looked in my direction as I pointed to the lower part of the creature, "Take out each support one at a time! They're keeping Elizabeth upright!" I yelled as loud as I could, and Blackwatch must of heard me too because instead of firing randomly at places which didn't look like firing at it would do any damage, they started instead shooting at the supportive tendrils beneath this ugly thing. Alex got the message too- nodding appreciatively in my direction before changing his tactics and approach. I couldn't do much- I wasn't the best up close fighter in the world but that didn't stop me from firing as many needles as I could into that bitch as I could.

"This is for trying to control me!" I shouted in rage as I let fly everything I could at a distance, trying desperately to make a difference as Alex did all he could up close- which was much more than I did of course. Vicious wounds were showing upon the supports to the left, and Alex looked just about ready to explode, literally! "Get back!" He shouted as his entire body began sprawling with tendrils, trying to find a way to some how escape. I didn't need telling twice as I jumped backwards with as much force as I could gather, and in mid air I watched as Alex's entire being just combusted with tendrils, absolutely EVERYWHERE. They covered an absolutely huge area, each one pulsing black and red with a barb on the end resembling something like a scorpion. I think I screamed his name as I watched him preform such a thing but it was lost in the sounds of battle, my cries being carried of into the wind that currently beat against my face furiously.

A faint question of 'how was this even humanly possible' was whispered in my head but then I came to the conclusion it isn't. We aren't human, not anymore. The writhing mass of tendrils that came from Alex's body retracted after what seemed like an eternity and whatever got caught in his lethal web was completely consumed- except from Greene, who's support columns had now given way, exposing the most vulnerable part for everyone to attack. Alex wasted no time in absolutely whaling on her and I was incredibly eager to join in the fight too when I felt the pull of her mind control again- she was trying to get me to protect her!

I struggled against her grasp, gripping my head in agony as I fought back, unwilling to yield to the tide of darkness forcing it's way into my head without permission while Greene herself was getting absolutely destroyed by the other, pissed off Prototype. 'GET OUT OF MY HEAD!' I screamed mentally, but it only made her fight harder.

'Never. You are my daughter...' I heard her whisper over the roaring around us and at the same moment Greene had recovered enough to move away from Alex and myself, and reform her protection and supports. Alex jumped away just in time to avoid the wave of rubble and concrete sent in our direction, but unfortunately I was still recovering from the mind rape I had just experienced. I was sent flying high into the air, flailing uselessly before something very strong caught me- it was Alex who had shifted both his arms back to normal. We landed on a rooftop a little away from the battle.

"What's wrong? You just collapsed when Greene was vunerable..." He asked quickly after putting me down, a glint of concern within those stunning blue eyes. I gripped my side which had just been injured and was still healing, and replied, "She's in my head... Ever since she... kidnapped me, she's been trying to take over my head and use me. She thinks I'm her daughter..." Alex looked at me with concern, "I don't think you should continue this fight then, I-" "NO. I... I need to help kill her, Alex. It won't leave my head alone otherwise, I..."

He held up his hand and I stopped talking, clearly understanding what I meant. "...Alright. I don't like this, but alright. We'll have to work together to kill Greene, she's the head of this infection. You keep a distance and attack from there, that's your strong point. I'll take out the pillars at a close range and when she gets downed again, we'll both come in for the kill. If you collapse again though, you'll have to stay away and possibly leave the fight altogether. Got it?" I looked him in the eyes and gave him the most confident look I could muster, despite being quite afraid of losing my mind to that monster.

"Got it. Now lets do this..."

_DON DON DOOOOOON! Cliffhanger, once again... God damn it I really have to stop leaving these chapters upon a cliffhanger- but at least I got the damn chapter done! I away actually contemplating putting this story on a hiatus for awhile but you guys came through and convinced me otherwise! Don't forget to leave the questions you would like to ask Alison/Dana/Alex! I'll need those to write a future chapter! :) hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	30. A bullet ballet

_Im going to apologise in advance for the pretty short chapter but the whole reason why the writing of this fan fiction has slowed down is because I hate rewriting fight scenes, so I wanted to get it over and done with. I WILL make it up to you within the next week because I'm gonna write a loooooong chapter after this, involving the Redlight-Resistance and quite a few of Alex's shenanigans ;D I need some cheerful chapters after 3 fighting ones... Q.Q There is a HIGH possibility that the next chapter will be out TOMORROW! So stay tuned folks... It gets better from here on out I promise..._

Alex and I returned to the fight pretty quickly, and both of us only had one thing on our minds. _Killing_ Elizabeth Greene. While he charged forwards with his blade, carving up anything that he got near I hung back and made his life easier by keeping back Blackwatch/Gentek and any other infected off of his back while he weakened Greene for the killing blow. I didn't have much trouble, and a few times I actually helped Alex by taking down any objects that Greene threw at him.

The intensity of this fight almost scared me, I'll be honest. Bullets rained down **_everywhere_** with no regard to human life, tanks were firing everything they had at either Elizabeth, Alex, or sometimes myself which anyone in the right mind would avoid like the plague, and infected were everywhere... I'm 17, still pretty young, and before this I had never done much wrong. Now I was fighting for my life in the midst of a dying city, against the military or government, and I had to **kill**. The worst thing any person could do in my eyes. How did I go from being an anti-social artist with bullying problems to a bloodthirsty biological terrorist in less than a few weeks? My thoughts drifted back to Natasha briefly, and I wondered how she was doing before I was violently snapped back into reality as the third support pillar around Greene fell. "Alison lets go!" Alex yelled over the onslaught of battle as the body of Greene was now exposed. Abandoning my thoughts with a shake of my head, I switched my arm from the 'Senbon launcher' to my blade which I had changed enough to resemble a long sword.

We were fine for the first few swings, but as I tried to hack away the efforts on Elizabeth's mind control quadrupled, and everything went blurry VERY quickly. There was two sides to this, I realised through the fucking mind rape. This was good because it meant she was very badly injured otherwise she wouldn't of been so desperate to get me to help her- but it was bad because I could barely fight her off before.** 'Submit!'** She screeched, reverberating in the depths of my mind but I somehow I continued to slash away, just as desperate as her to end this but my efforts were strained, at best.** 'FUCK YOU- YOUR DOING THIS, YOU CAUSED THIS INFECTION! JUST DIE!'** I retaliated, doing my utmost best to resist everything she could throw at me. I faintly felt blood run down my nose and across my lips as the mental strain kicked in, and I think Alex saw my face too because he doubled his efforts. She wouldn't stay like this forever and we had to end this here.

I was winning against her and we were just about to finish when she said something that struck me right through, knocking me off balance for a second. **'What would your parents think of you now Alison... What would Natasha think? You're a murderer... Nothing different from your mother... But you're mine now, I can forgive you.'** She whispered harshly at first, but lovingly towards the end. I stopped mid-battle, how did she know about that... I thought I left that all behind now, but then I remembered the internal battle I had with myself before and I realised that really, I hadn't had I? Sorrow lingered in my chest when I thought on what Greene had said, but when I saw Alex fighting valiantly beside me, I had to shove all feeling aside. **'Alex is my friend now! I will NEVER betray him for someone who thinks she knows me!' **

I gave an almighty push, using everything I had to get her out of my mind and it worked somehow! She was banished from my head, and at the same time Alex had ripped her frail looking body from it's protective fleshy cocoon, his face a violent cocktail mixture of rage and triumph. "**_You're finished Greene._**" He spoke in an eerily quiet voice, before tendrils reached out from his body, and snaked their way around her. "This is _**not**_ the end!" Was her last words, before Alex finally consumed the living nightmare of my life, her DNA being devoured by his. I looked away as the rush of memories temporarily stunned Alex, knowing what it was like to see a person's life flash before your eyes...

_i've finally finished highschool and I now I have 3 months off pretty much, so I will have plenty of time to devote to my fan fictions :) I couldn't really update before because I had my MAJOR life changing exams going on, so I had to focus on those, I am truly sorry for making you all wait so long... Like I said though, I WILL make it up to you by the end of this week, possibly by tomorrow! I need questions for Alison that you'd all like to ask for the next chapter and possibly the chapter after that though, so post your questions and I'll write the next chapter as soon as I get at least one!_


	31. Late to my own funeral

_Oh wow, another chapter? __**SO SOON!?**__ What is wrong with me? XD kidding, kidding. As promised, another, much longer, chapter than the one I published yesterday. It'll try and make another for tomorrow too- I feel super bad for not publishing stuff for ages... Anyway, on with the show!_

It was many hours after the battle now, approximately 8:45 P.M, and Alex and I were both back at the apartment, him talking to Dana about his next set of plans, and I was in my room listening to my music on my blue iPod. I was glad I bought it, I needed a distraction right now... At one point I had considered painting but honestly I couldn't stop thinking about what Elizabeth had said to me- was I really just a murderer? No... I couldn't be, I cared and valued people's lives, but as much as I tried to find some kind of bright side to the atrocities I had committed, I couldn't. I didn't even know what I was getting into here- Alex hadn't told me much, but as I pilfered through the thoughts of the marines I had consumed, I discovered that I held at least a few pieces of the puzzle. I knew the disease I carried was a bio weapon, genetically engineered by Gentek from Redlight, and that Elizabeth Greene is- WAS, the perfect embodiment of the Redlight strain.

Idaho was where she came from, but beyond that, I didn't know much else. I knew that they were looking for people around the world to infect that had certain genetic traits, hence how I came to be a prototype. I was made to kill Redlight AND Mercer- guess they didn't count on a teenager trashing their base and joining the person they wanted me to kill in the first place... A knock at the door brought me out of my thoughts and immediately I pulled out my headphones, and stuffed them in my pocket. "Yeah?" I called from the windowsill.

Dana entered followed closely by Alex, who narrowed his eyes at the sore lack of furniture in my room. Thankfully, they weren't here to discuss my taste in furniture, or lack of it at least. "Hey, we just came to check up on you, you've been holed up in here for quite some time, two hours at least." Dana smiled, and leant against the wall while Alex just hung in the doorway, his eyes glowing under his hood in that weird way of his. "I've just been thinking things over. Everything that's gone on, battles, being shot at, Blackwatch... It's... A lot to get over. I wanted to be an artist... Not, this." I gestured to myself and I caught the look of pity in her eyes. I had learnt to hate the look of pity, especially through highschool but right now it made me feel a tiny bit better. "We can't do anything about it now, but I'm glad your doing ok. You can talk to us, alright?" She smiled and Alex nodded in agreement, even if it was only faintly. I slight grin worked its way onto my face. "Alright. I just needed to sort everything out y'know? I'm feeling better now." Dana grinned in return.

"Glad to hear it. Now c'mon! Come join us in the living room or something! We're planning on watching a film in a bit!" She exclaimed excitedly and I just face palmed. "Hell no, not after a few nights ago- your version of a good time is just god damn twisted!" I laughed before noting I had just received a text, judging by the faint vibration in my pocket. "I'd rather go for a walk, or in my case a run-fly-glide-land-run-and-jump." I had Dana cracking up at my elaborations and even Alex seemed amused. "Alright then, but don't be like Alex and come in at all times of the night! I don't even have to remind you about the time I ended up whacking Alex over the head with a frying pan..." I nodded, taking a note to come back at a reasonable time and we all left my room. I think Alex was itching to talk to me and go on a walk too judging by how close he stayed to me as I walked to the door of the apartment but thankfully Dana dragged him off, stating that it was their 'bonding time' tonight. I laughed at his forlorn expression as she forced him to sit down, and bid my farewells before slipping out into the night after a short elevator ride.

The moment I was outside, I chose in inconspicuous alleyway to hide in while I jumped up onto the rooftops, and hiding behind a vent duct thingy, I checked my texts. I had a few, surprisingly. One was from Natasha which made my heart clench, and another looked like it was from Dakota, apparently they had some good stuff for me... The final text was from Alex, surprisingly enough.

Natasha: 'Your official funeral was today, hundreds attended. I hope you aren't actually dead- text me soon, I want to know you're alright...'

My funeral? So everyone really DOES think I'm dead? My heart sank even deeper into my chest, but was slightly lifted at the 'hundreds attended' part. I kinda wished I could of been there to see what it was like- maybe I could ask Natasha about that at some point... I shook my head and read the other texts.

Alex: Don't be too late home. Dana has the frying pan ready if you are- and I need to talk to you later. See you soon.

I knew it! He probably wanted to talk about my lack of furniture or something, but I couldn't help but feel like something else was going to be lying in wait for me once I returned 'home'. I made a mental note to be prepared for a chewing out when I got back, as well as head injuries and concussions. I read the final text and a little smirk made it's way onto my face.

RD: I have something you could use. Ever heard of the tea caddy?

A smirk found it's way onto my face. The Tea Caddy seemed to pop up a lot for some reason- the firs time I found it being when I had to find somewhere to hide while I waited for Alex, the second time being when I found Dana waiting around for me. Now apparently I was destined to go there again... I texted back a reply. 'Yes, why?' I received a text back less than a minute later. 'Meet me there, A.S.A.P' finishing our conversation with a 'will do,' I put my phone away and stood up. I had some business with the 'Boss'.

**P.O.V change.**

I had received a reply from the ever mysterious and elusive contact we now had connecting us to Alex Mercer stating that she wold be here shortly, and I slumped into my chair with a sigh, the tea and biscuits in front of ,y currently left untouched. This place was certainly useful- it was inconspicuous and out of the way, so Blackwatch or Gentek would never think to look here for the Redlight-Resistance's leader and boss, would they? It also helped that the lady who ran this shop actually helped with our resistance too- which was super cool if you asked me. I wasn't sure of her name though...

I knew she had an entry to the lower levels of the city somewhere in the basement of this shop- she had informed me of this when I last brought Rico to plan out our protests in the streets as a diversion to steal the supplies from one of their warehouses. Rico knew her before I did, and everytime I asked him how he knew her he would just tap his god damn nose and say, "That's a secret..." I started drinking my tea the lady had kindly given me and sighed. Where the hell was that mysterious contact of mine? It had been half an hour or so at least...

As if on queue, a hooded girl entered the shop- looking quite frankly less confident than I expected them to be. I knew it was her, she was wearing the same outfit as when I last saw her. I waved her over, and she sat across from me. It was definitely her, her eyes were the only ones I had seen that glowed in the dark shadow of her hood. "I take it you haven't been waiting long then?" She asked me quietly looking around as though she was paranoid. I just smirked, "not too long. Anyway, I found you some information that not even the rest of my group know about yet. You know about the Hive mind incident right?" She nodded, though I could of sworn she shuddered at the mention of it, hmm...

"Well, as far as we know, when Alex Mercer injected Elizabeth Greene with the cancer cells, her body rejected it immediately. That biomass she rejected from her body after shit went down took on a form of it's own, and it's just as intelligent as you or I. There have been rumours it's after the Blackwatch higher-ups, but no one is totally sure why... We have theories that if it is as intelligent as us, it might try to infiltrate Blackwatch-" "and possibly manipulate them?" She finished my sentence for me and I nodded, mildly impressed. "So... What you want me to warn the higher-ups of the god forsaken group that did this to Alex?if that's the case then forget it." She deadpanned.

I sighed, "You don't have to warn anyone except possibly one. There is a lieutenant in Blackwatch called Cross, he's more intelligent than the others, and has more respect to the masses than most. He also happens to be in line to take over Blackwatch in case anything unfortunate happens to the top dog in their little den of corruption. Now doesn't that sound like he would make the ideal target?" She thought it over for a second before reluctantly nodding. "It all sounds fine and dandy in theory but isn't he the same person who infected Mercer with the virus his girlfriend made in the first place? I highly doubt those two will ever cooperate." "They don't have to. All's you need to do is alert Mercer, who will keep the mega mutated 'dog' away from Blackwatch, until he can get around to dealing with Cross himself. Simple enough right? It would be even easier if you knew HERA though, she could follow around Cross while Alex did his thing elsewhere..." I trailed off as she stood up.

"Thanks for help," she told me in a quiet tone, still looking around nervously. "I'll make sure to tell Alex this..." She turned to the door but I grabbed her arm, and I left her stiffen in surprise. "Wait, you said you'd tell me your name. Honour your part of the agreement too." I heard a faint laugh, which gave me chills by how hollow it sounded. "I don't really have a name anymore, but you can call me Alison I suppose. See you around, and thanks again..." She left as swiftly as she came, and before I knew it I was alone once again. Was it me or was there something really strange about her? And what did she mean by not having a name anymore?

I pitched the bridge of my nose between my index finger and thumb. Coming here created more questions than it answered... Ugh. Tonight, I knew full well would be spent trying to find more information out on either the monster that came from Greene, or on 'Alison', the current enigma of this situation. Something told me that there was more to Alison than met the eye...

_HA! Another chapter done! Aaaaaand yeah... I had to leave a mini cliffy here- you'll all be happy to know that Alex gets some screen time in the next chapter ;) and there will be moments of __**FLUFF**__! __and mild pervyness.__.. XD y'know, just the typical treatment Alex gives Alison on a daily basis :P hope you liked it, and don't forget to leave some reviews! It keeps me on track with my writing!_


	32. I didn't know Alex was my DAD

Slipping back into the apartment Dana and Alex now lived in, I arrived just in time to see the film credits come to an end. I smiled as I saw Dana had fallen asleep next to Alex, and Alex looked awkwardly at her, unsure as of what to do. He sighted me very quickly somehow since most of the apartment was pitch black, and he watched as I walked over. I spoke very quietly, "I take it she isn't affected by horror films then?" I gestured to Dana and his gaunt face lifted in a gentle smirk, before he shook his head. "I'll take her to her room then, she'll need her rest..."

She was surprisingly easy to pick up, and she didn't stir at all when I placed her on her bed and left her in the room, shutting it quietly behind myself. Returning to the living room, I could see Alex hunched over on the sofa, his fingers interlaced in an oddly human gesture. Old habits die hard, I suppose. "So you wanted to talk...?" I asked quietly as I sat on the floor nearby him and he nodded, if only minutely. "Yeah. About a few things, actually." He glanced at me briefly, before looking around the apartment we now owned together. "Alright then, ask away." I tried to smile but I knew these would probably be serious things, knowing Alex. "Well... The first thing I wanted to talk about was the battle. With Greene. What happened with you during that fight?"

I took a deep breath, then released it, messing with the carpet on the floor. "...That's a little hard to answer you know, I've never been any good with speaking words... But if you want to know, I'll try to explain. When I was, uh, 'kidnapped'," Alex flinched slightly at the memory. "Greene had tried to convince me to join her, to become her daughter, effectively, and spread the virus alongside her. She showed me Hope, Idaho, and the conditions of the world currently in an attempt to convince me, but I refused and you rescued me not long afterwards. In the battle more recently, she tried again, almost forcing me to submit to her by controlling my mind... When she couldn't control my mind, she tried prying into my memories of the people I held dear and convincing me to join her that way... And the rest, you know yourself." Alex looked to be deep in thought, before saying anything. "And where did you go earlier?"

I sighed again, knowing there was no point in lying. "Well... I managed to locate the Redlight Resistance movement. I know the leader myself- and before you proceed to decapitate me, yes I was thinking, no I haven't told them who I really am, no they haven't followed us, and no they don't know about Dana nor you. They gave me information which you REALLY need to hear." Alex glared at me harshly, but for once, he controlled himself and heard me out. "Alright, go on." Taking that as a sign to continue, I started speaking again. "The leader, Roxxanne, she discovered something about Greene before she died. The nasty virus you stabbed her with? That produced a hunter from her body that is both as strong as us, and as intelligent as us. The good part is, it's going after the higher ranking officers in Blackwatch, like Cross. The bad part... Don't you kind of need to kill Cross yourself? Or get his memories? If the hunter got there first, they would have the whole of Blackwatch at their command, and considering how intelligent it's meant to be..."

I'll give him credit, he was actually decent at thinking whenever he needed to. "I can't go after Cross right now, I have other leads to chase. So the question remains... Can you deal with following Cross around, until the time comes?" I gave him my most serious face, and nodded, thrilled to finally be of use to him. "Yes, I can." I think I convinced him, since he sat up now, no longer hunched over so his hood almost completely covered his face. Knowing the interrogation was over for now, I relaxed a little, until I heard the bastard speak once again.

"**Now about the lack of furniture in your room...**"

_I'm sorry for such an absence! I've been working furiously on improving my artwork, and a few other fan fictions I have abandoned for such a long time. I know it isn't much, but I'm paving the way for future events, and this little talk had to happen. I start art college on Wednesday, and I am SORE from a gig I went to yesterday. Maybe I shouldn't of gone into the mosh pit, but hell it was worth it! I'll try to update more regularly, but right now I'm having to force myself to write. I'm currently grounded too... Bleh. _


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